Tigara's Tale
by Tigara Akimoto
Summary: What happens when the Akatsuki take on a new member? Will it be all fun and games or will trouble brew for the newcomer? Rated MA. Ita/OC sorry, permanent hiatus, bad writer's block
1. The Beginning

Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

An Offshoot of Nari's Story

By Dawn Loge

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I don't own Naruto, I do, however, own Tigara and Ari and my sister owns Nari and several other original characters. Please have the consideration to not use them; I don't use your characters, so don't use mine or my sister's.

I have my sister's permission to use her characters, since she is also helping me with this story, otherwise, this would be rather boring.

Chapter 1

The Beginning

She was born Akimoto Tigara in Kiri. Her clan was one of the largest and most respected (more like feared) in the village. No one dared get on their bad sides because of their Kekkei Genkai. They could ruin the entire village if they pooled their power. But they had a dark secret; the men of the clan were pedophiles. When Tigara was six, she was raped by several of them. She tried to go to the Mizukage of the village, but he ignored her claims, not wanting a clan war. It went on like this for over a year; one of them would rape her, she would go to the Mizukage and be ignored. One day, one of the women followed her when she went to the Mizukage. She told the other women what Tigara had done. They conspired together to kill her, not knowing that Tigara was hiding in the closet from her cousin and overheard the entire conversation. That night, Tigara snuck into her parents' room and stole her father's sword and daggers. If no one else was going to do anything about it, she was going to take matters into her own hands, because she didn't want the same thing to happen to anyone else. She slit her parents' throats, and then went through the house doing the same to everyone else. The only person she left alive was her two-year-old baby sister, Ari, who she took with her and ran from the village to escape the leader's anger.

She ran for several days, having taken enough food and clothing for the two of them. They couldn't run anymore when a man found them hiding in a tree. He seemed kind, not like their family.

He asked, "What are you two doing in that tree?"

Tigara said, "Hiding from the search party. I did something very bad."

He asked, "Do you know where you are going?"

Ari said, "Hokage Leaf village. He 'tect us."

The man lifted the two girls to the ground. He said, "I think I had better go with you. What are your names?"

Tigara said, "I am Akimoto Tigara, and this is my sister, Ari. We used to be from Kiri, but…"

"But, what, Akimoto Tigara of Kiri? You said you did something very bad, what could you have possibly done that would make Kiri not welcome you if you came back?"

Tigara stopped, looked down at the ground and pulled him down to her level, whispering in his ear, "I killed our entire clan. Ari doesn't know, she just thinks I did something naughty and don't want to be punished."

He whispered, "Why did you do that? Were they trying to hurt you or your sister?"

She told him all that had happened in hushed tones, so as not to alert her baby sister, who was only a short way away.

Ari had been picking flowers along the path. She came over to them, saying, "I hungy, 'Ara."

The man stood, scooping Ari into his arms and saying, "Are you hungry, Ari? I think I might have something in my pack that might make a good lunch. What do you think, Tigara, do you want to stop for lunch before I take you to the Hokage?"

Tigara sank to the ground, and took Ari in her lap, saying, "Thank you, our food ran out last night. I wasn't able to carry much and I needed to keep my father's weapons, so food and clothes were kind of limited. I carried the food and Ari carried two outfits for each of us."

"How many days have you been on the road?"

"Four, I think. I kinda lost count. Things get kinda muddled when you are running."

"How old are you two?"

Ari piped up, with her mouth full of cheese, "I two."

Tigara said, "Ari, don't talk with your mouth full. It's rude. She just turned two, I'll be eight soon."

The man said, "It's alright, Tigara. Let her eat. You need to eat too. My name is Pein. The Hokage is a good man, and Ari will be more than welcome in the Leaf village, but I'm afraid that you will not be. I will take your sister to the Hokage; you will wait for me in the woods."

Tigara hugged Ari close, saying, "I don't want to be separated from my sister, but if I won't be welcome, I will wait for you. I know that what I did was unforgivable."

"Tigara, can you write?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I need you to write a note to the Hokage, explaining who your sister is and what happened. You will also, as her only family, tell him that she needs to be adopted by a good family and educated as a ninja. I will take care of your training myself." He handed Tigara a small scroll and a pen. After she wrote the note, he took it and tied it around Ari's neck, saying, "Do you have any blankets? Once it gets dark, and she is asleep, I will bundle her up and take her to the Hokage's home."

Tigara unpinned the blanket that she had been using as a cloak, saying, "The only way we were able to carry them was around our necks, I have Ari's in my pack, since our food ran out." She handed the two blankets to Pein, saying, "Since we have been on the run, she has been falling asleep shortly after she eats supper, which we have been eating once it gets too dark to see."

He took the blankets and put them in his own pack, saying, "The Leaf village is still some distance, so we need to get moving. We will still get there before nightfall if I carry Ari." He picked up the little girl, who had fallen asleep in Tigara's lap as soon as her little tummy was full, helped Tigara to her feet and they started walking. "Now that you are with me, whoever was following you will stop."

The sun set just as they reached the woods at the edge of the village. They stopped and had supper, and true to Tigara's statement, Ari fell asleep almost as soon as they finished. Pein wrapped the little girl in the two blankets they had brought from home, as well as one of his own. He handed Tigara his own cloak to keep her warm until he returned, then he ran through the village carrying Ari. He set her on the Hokage's doorstep and ran back to where he had left Tigara.

He pulled his cloak off of Tigara, who had tears in her eyes, put it on and picked her up, wrapping her up. She cried on his shoulder until she fell asleep. He carried her to the Akatsuki lair, which was about a six hour walk. He took her to an empty bedroom and laid her down. When she woke up the next morning around sun-up, she looked around confused. Then, remembering the previous night, started sobbing uncontrollably.

Pein came in with her breakfast, saw her crying and went over to her, asking, "What's wrong?"

"I didn't even get to tell Ari goodbye. She's gonna be so scared without me there."

"Don't worry about your sister. The Hokage will see to it that she goes to a good family. Now, you need to eat your breakfast. There are some people here that you need to meet. They will be helping me with your training, which will begin tomorrow." He sat with her until she couldn't eat anymore. "You need to change. I took the liberty of getting you some clothes. I also got you some new shoes, since yours seem to have vanished sometime during your travels."

"I wasn't wearing any when we left. I always do better barefoot."

"Have you had any training at all?"

"My parents taught me the family's Kekkei Genkais and Mother taught me some gymnastics. I got my Kekkei Genkais on my fourth birthday. They decided to enroll me in the local academy immediately. I know lots of jutsus but for some reason only a couple of them work right."

"What is your Kekkei Genkai?"

"The men control fire, the women control ice. I'm the only one who can control both; I'm not sure about Ari yet. That's why no one in our village wanted to piss us off. If we pooled our power, we could burn the entire village or completely ice it over."

"After you have met everyone, I want you to show me everything you know." She came out from behind her changing screen in a short dark purple dress with black sleeves and attached black shorts. "That dress makes your eyes stand out, you look lovely, Akimoto Tigara of Kiri. It is time we head downstairs so that you can meet everyone. Put your shoes on. There always seems to be broken glass everywhere, and, although we try to clean it up, we can never seem to get it all." She put her new black knee-boots on and followed Pein down the stairs.

In the main room, all the other members of the Akatsuki had gathered to meet the newest addition. An older gentleman was sitting in an overstuffed chair; two men and a woman were sitting on the sofa; and a man with a shark's head and a man who looked like he got ate by a plant were standing on either side of a closed door.

Before he introduced Tigara, Pein said, "If any of you try anything with this girl, you will have me to answer to. This is Akimoto Tigara, formerly of Kiri. I happened to find her hiding in a tree."

The man with a shark's head piped up, "I was also from Kiri. Are you of the Fire and Ice clan?" Tigara simply nodded. "I thought I recognized the name. Which did you get, fire or ice?"

"You will find out in time, Kisame. For the moment, just tell her your names, please," Pein answered for Tigara.

The man with a giant fly trap on his head said, "I'm Zetsu. I was from the Grass village."

The woman sitting on the sofa pulled Tigara into her lap and said, "I'm Konan and I was from the Rain village, so was Pein. If you ever have any problems, you can come to me, Tigara-chan."

One of the men on the couch said, "I am Hidan. I worship Jashin. I must say, if you were not under Pein's protection, you would make a very lovely sacrifice. Providing, of course, that you are a virgin."

Pein smacked Hidan over the head, saying, "I told you, don't try anything."

Tigara buried her face in Konan's shoulder, saying, "I don't know what a virgin is."

Pein said, "Don't worry, Tigara. You had your virginity stolen from you."

The other man on the sofa said, "My name is Sasori, Baby Bird. I am a puppet master from the Sand village."

The man sitting in the chair said, "My name is Orochimaru, and, as you can probably tell, I am the oldest one here other than Hidan, considering he is immortal. I was of the Leaf village."

Pein said, "Baby Bird, you said you were almost eight. When is your birthday?"

"July 1."

Konan said, "That's tomorrow! Oh, Pein, would you let me throw her a party? Please?"

Pein said, "That sounds like an excellent idea, Konan. I expect every one of you to give her something; preferably, something that she will be able to use in the near future. Right now, I need to take her outside to work on getting her started on her training. Sasori, would you come with us?"

Sasori said, "That's fine with me. I would kind of like to see what our little Baby Bird is capable of."

Pein said, "Come on, you two, outside to the training grounds." Once outside, he said, "Well, Baby Bird, it would appear that you have managed to work your way into everyone's hearts. Alright, I want to see what you can do. Do you see that rock over there?" She nodded, although the rock was impossible to miss at well over six feet high and five feet wide. "Heat it up."

She closed her eyes, stretched out her left hand and sent a fire blast straight to the rock, holding it until the rock was red hot.

"Very good. Now freeze it."

She lowered her left hand, raised her right and sent an ice blast, causing the rock to explode into gravel. She opened her eyes and covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.

"It's alright, Baby Bird. That is exactly what I wanted to happen. You see, when something gets hot enough, and then you put cold to it, it either gets brittle or explodes; and that particular rock was impossible to move, even with all seven of us. Now, Sasori, stand over there where the rock used to be. Tigara, you said your mother taught you some gymnastics. Show me."

Tigara did flips and cartwheels over to where Sasori was standing, ending in a double back flip with a half-twist over his head so that when she landed she was facing his back and shoved him off balance.

Sasori exclaimed, "Impressive! Not many can get the better of me like that. I presume you shoved me on purpose."

Tigara nodded with a grin.

Pein tossed an apple to Sasori and said, "Alright, Tigara, try to kick the apple off his head."

She did a standing sidekick, sending the apple sailing straight into Pein's open hands. Sasori clapped, saying, "Very nice."

Tigara ran to Pein, giggling the whole way. "This is fun; it doesn't even seem like work. I'm hungry, when is lunch?" With tears in her eyes, she said, "I wish Ari was here to watch." Pein handed her the apple, which she devoured.

Sasori put his arm around her shoulders, asking, "Who's Ari?"

"My baby sister; we took her to the Leaf village. I left a note for the Hokage that she needed to be adopted."

She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Pein's neck and her legs around his waist, saying, "I'm hungry, can we have lunch now?"

He carried her back to the house, setting her down just inside the door. He led her to the kitchen, where Konan was just putting the finishing touches on some sandwiches. She turned just as they came in, saying, "I hope you like roast beef, Tigara. We don't eat fancy here except on special occasions."

Pein said, "I don't think she really cares what it is, just so long as it doesn't try to eat her first. Tigara, after lunch, we are going to see how well you can handle the weapons you brought with you."

Tigara said, "I can handle the little ones okay, but the long one is a little too heavy for me to maneuver yet. They were Father's."

Konan rang the small gong by the door and said, "What weapons, Pein?"

"She brought a katana and two matching daggers from her home in Kiri."

"I see. Shh, look."

Pein turned to see Tigara asleep at the table with half of her sandwich gone and the other half still hanging out of her mouth. He whispered, "I think the weapons demonstration can wait until tomorrow, she has had a rough week. I'm going to carry her up to her bed. Then, you and I need to talk about her."

Konan nodded, pulled the sandwich from Tigara's mouth and put it away, saying, "In case she's hungry when she wakes up."

Pein picked the sleeping girl up and took her upstairs. He arrived back in the kitchen at the same time the others got there from various parts of the property. Hidan asked, "Where's Tigara?"

Konan said, "She fell asleep at the table. Pein took her up to her bed, knowing how you lot are at mealtime. The rest of her sandwich is in the fridge, if any of you so much as look at it, I am going to kick some ass. Pein, you wanted to talk to me?"

Pein put a few sandwiches on a plate and led the way to the main room. Once there, he sat and said, "First, she doesn't know that I followed them from Kiri; she just thinks I am a kind stranger. Second, her baby sister, Ari, doesn't know why they left Kiri. Tigara killed their entire clan because several of the men raped her and the women found out that she had gone to the Mizukage about it and were going to kill her. She took matters into her own hands, killed them first and ran away with Ari. They had been running for four days at least when I overtook them. It's a good thing I did, because their food had run out the night before. Third and finally, I think there might be something wrong with Tigara. We hadn't even been outside an hour and she said she was hungry. I gave her an apple, which she inhaled, but less than twenty minutes later she said it again."

"Pein, tomorrow, don't make her train. I would like her help with the party. I think it may be just what she needs to feel like she belongs here."

"What are you going to give her?"

"You'll see tomorrow, I already have it wrapped up in my room. Look."

Pein turned toward the stairway to see Tigara coming down rubbing her eyes. She had been asleep for about two hours. He went to her and said, "Tigara, would you like a tour of the house after you finish your lunch?"

Tigara nodded, smiling, so Konan picked up the empty plate and went with the two to the now empty kitchen. Konan said, "I saved your sandwich. Would you like a glass of milk and a cookie to go with it?" Tigara simply nodded and sat down at the clean table. "I'm going to wash up these dishes while she finishes and then I'd like to join you for the tour, if that's alright, Pein."

"I think it's up to Tigara, don't you? What do you think, Tigara? Is it alright if Konan joins us?" She nodded with her mouth full of sandwich. "It's settled then, the three of us will take a tour of the house after you finish eating."

The two adults sat and watched the little girl dunk her chocolate chip cookie in her milk. Then, after Konan washed up her dishes, Tigara took both their hands and off they went. They did the lower level first. Pein indicated a closed door just behind the staircase, saying, "This is Orochimaru's room. He's the only one on the ground floor. Every two bedrooms share a bathroom. You already know where the kitchen and main room are." They went upstairs and Pein continued, "You know which one is yours, we can decorate it differently if you want. My room is directly across the hall from yours and Konan is next to me. The room next to yours is empty at the moment, as are the six around the corner and the ones at the end on the right and the left. The next one on the right is Hidan's. Kisame, then Zetsu, then Sasori are on the left. There is a training level on the roof, with locker rooms; the stairs leading to it are around the corner on the end. Do you think you can remember all that?"

Tigara nodded, saying, "I'm hungry, can I have another cookie and some juice?"

The older two looked at each other in shock, and then Konan said, "I think I can arrange that."

The three of them went back down to the kitchen and Pein got Tigara two cookies and a glass of milk as well as the juice she asked for. He asked, "Tigara is something wrong? You just finished your lunch about an hour ago."

She said, "I just get lightheaded a lot. It usually goes away if I eat something right away. I've had this problem since I was about Ari's age."

Konan took Pein aside and whispered, "We need to make sure that she always has something handy for her to eat, it sounds like this problem is more serious than she seems to think."

He whispered back, "I think you might be right on both counts. It sounds like it hits hardest when she is stressed or overexerted." Aloud he said, "Tigara, do you have any money at all? I want to get you checked out by a medic."

She finished her juice and said, "I brought all I could carry. It's in a pouch tied to my pack. I'll get it for you, but I think I need to lie down until supper."

Konan took Tigara upstairs, but picked her up and carried her about halfway up because she started swaying, passing out as she was picked up. She laid the little girl on the bed and retrieved the pouch of money, shutting the door quietly. She ran downstairs to the kitchen and, out of breath, said, "She passed out halfway up the stairs. We need the medic here ASAP."

Pein looked at her in fear and said, "I will go, I can move faster than you can. I will tell her it's an emergency and bring her here." With that, he transformed himself into a large hawk and flew out the open window.

About an hour later, two hawks flew back in. On landing, they transformed back into Pein and the medic. The medic asked, "Where is the emergency?"

Konan took her upstairs to Tigara's room and said, "Her name is Tigara. I think she may have a problem. She says she gets lightheaded a lot but that it goes away if she eats something quickly enough."

"When and what did she eat last?"

"She had two cookies, a glass of milk and some juice a little over an hour ago, but she said that she needed to lie down and on the way up here she passed out."

Tigara was tossing on the bed muttering, "Ari, Ari, Ari, ARI!" The last one was screamed as she sat bolt upright, drenched in sweat with her eyes wide.

"Who is Ari, little one?"

"My baby sister, we left her in the Leaf village. Do you know her? Please tell me she's alright."

"I'm not of the Leaf village. I need to take a blood sample, child. It will only hurt for a moment." She pricked her finger and put the blood on a little stick and put the stick into a machine. After about a minute, she said, "It seems you were right, miss. She does have a problem. More specifically, she has the worst case of hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar diabetes, that I have ever seen in one her age. It's probably hereditary. I will inform the medic-nin in the Leaf village that her sister needs watching. I am going to leave a meter and enough lancets and strips here to last her a month. Tigara, I am going to teach you how to use this machine and you need to use it four times a day; when you get up, before lunch, before supper, and before you go to bed for the night. I also want you to check it if you start feeling lightheaded. I didn't catch this young lady's name who is standing behind me, but if your reading is any less than 75, you need to inform someone immediately, preferably her, since I am going to teach her what to do in that case."

Tigara said, "I watched you do the first one, I can do it from there. I remember things instantly. Will I need to check it tonight before supper, since you checked it now? When is supper, Konan? I'm hungry."

"Supper is in two hours, but since the doctor said your sugar was low, I think a snack is in order. Am I correct, Doctor?"

The medic said, "Yes, Konan, I believe she said your name was; a snack is in order. Two cookies and some juice should have her feeling alright until supper. Yes, Tigara, you will need to check your blood before supper. And I want you to write down your readings every time you check it. There is a log book in the case with your meter." As they walked down to the kitchen to get Tigara's snack, she said in hushed tones to Konan, "I will return in two weeks. I will be bringing more lancets and test strips. Make certain that she always carries her meter and some crackers, an apple, or something that she can eat quickly at all times. I don't want her passing out again before I return. Make absolutely certain that she checks her blood at the times I told her and writes down the readings. I will be checking her log book. When we get to the kitchen, I will show her the log book and write down the reading I got while we were upstairs." Konan got Tigara's snack while the medic showed her how to make the entries in her log book. She said, "Each page has columns for date, time, reading, reason, what you were doing, and action taken. If it is one of the four times I told you, you don't have to write anything in the last two columns, just put scheduled in the reason column. In addition to tracking your readings, I want you to track what you eat every day. Start tracking your readings tonight, but you can start tracking your food tomorrow. Konan, if her reading gets below 75, give her a glass of juice with three big spoonfuls of sugar mixed into it or a big spoonful of honey."

Konan nodded, saying, "Tomorrow is her birthday, are there any special instructions as to what she can and can't have?"

She said, "Tigara, check your blood right before the party. Unless her sugar is low, only one piece of cake and one small dish of ice cream. If it's low, she can have two of each. Other than that, I shouldn't think so."

Tigara said, "So basically, I'm watching my sugar intake, is that right? Do I still have to write down everything I eat?"

She said, "Yes, to both questions. If you check your blood, and the reading is below 90, eat something. If it's below 75, tell someone immediately."

Konan said, "I will make sure the others have these instructions as well."

She asked Tigara, "Is there anything else?"

She shook her head no, so the medic left.

On seeing the medic leave, Pein came back in and asked, "So, what's up, you two?"

Konan said, "She has low blood sugar diabetes, or hypoglycemia. She has to check her blood four times a day and whenever she starts feeling lightheaded. The rest, I will tell everyone at supper."

Tigara and Pein helped Konan fix supper and about an hour after the medic left, Tigara rang the gong by the door. After everyone had sat down, Pein said, "Go ahead and fix your plates, but be quiet about it. Konan has some things to tell us all."

Konan said, "It seems our little Baby Bird is diabetic. She has hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar. If she checks her blood and the reading is below 90, she needs to eat something; but if it's below 75, she is to tell someone immediately. Speaking of which, Tigara, did you check your blood before supper like the medic told you to?" She nodded so Konan continued, "If her sugar is below 75, someone needs to get her a glass of juice with three big spoonfuls of sugar mixed in it or a big spoonful of honey and then get her something to eat, like a cookie or some crackers with peanut butter on them. Every one of us needs to start carrying something for her to snack on, even if it's just a cookie or an apple. Also, starting tomorrow, she is to track everything that she eats. Does everyone understand what I'm saying? If we don't do as the medic ordered, we could lose her."

Everyone nodded and they finished supper in silence. After supper, everyone except Orochimaru and Tigara helped with the cleanup; Orochimaru because someone needed to keep an eye on the little girl and Tigara because she had helped with fixing it. She took Orochimaru into the main room and they started playing a game of cards at the coffee table. He said, "I have some candy in my room, would you like some?" She nodded, so he went and got her a handful. "I don't eat it that much, and since your blood sugar drops a lot, I figured you could use it more than I can."

She put a piece in her mouth and said, "Thank you, Orochimaru-san. You know, no one has ever been as kind to me as this group. Back home, everyone was afraid of my family, so no one would come anywhere near me if they could help it. As a matter of fact, while I was attending the Academy, they wouldn't let me stay in the dorms with the rest of my class. They sent me home at the end of every day. They said it was because of my age and the fact that my mother was pregnant all the time, but I knew better. The day I got my headband, I was only able to perform two jutsus other than my Kekkei Genkais with any degree of perfection."

"How long have you had your headband, Baby Bird?" Kisame asked, coming in from the kitchen.

"About two years, why?"

"You weren't wearing it when we all met you, so I didn't know you had it."

"Well, they said that I would be more of a liability than an asset to any team because of my age, so I wasn't put on one. I haven't been sent on any missions either; they said it was too dangerous. I was angry, so I figured, what's the point of wearing it if I never go anywhere."

"Where is it?" Pein asked.

"In my pack, why?"

He left the room without giving her a response, returning a few moments later with her headband. He had scratched a line across it. He said, "You now have a reason to wear it and be proud of it. You are a rogue ninja, formerly of Kiri. I want you to wear it. Be proud of the fact that you are a ninja."

He tied the headband around her forehead. She turned and hugged him around the waist. "Thank you, Pein. I didn't realize it was such an honor to be a ninja. I mean the only reason that my parents gave me for going to the Academy so early was to get me out of the house for a while every day. And I did it to make them happy. I think I need to go to bed if I'm going to help with the party tomorrow. I think that's what I heard Konan say this afternoon." She smiled mischievously.

Konan and Pein looked at each other in shock, then Konan said, "Don't forget what the medic said about your blood test, Tigara."

"I know. I need to check it before I go to bed, but just so you know; I haven't felt dizzy or hungry since supper. Orochimaru-sama, could that be because of the candy?"

He chucked, "Yes, it is. That's why I gave it to you. If you always have one in your mouth, and are very careful with it, it will keep your blood sugar from going dangerously low." Everyone looked at him in amazement.

Hidan said, "I didn't know you knew anything about diabetes."

Orochimaru replied, "My niece, the gods rest her soul, was hypoglycemic. That's why I got into the habit of always having some hard candy on me. She absolutely adored candy, but most of the time wasn't allowed to have it. She died shortly after she slipped into a diabetic coma."

"Good night everyone, I'm off to bed. Thank you for the candy, Orochimaru-san. Thank you for the insight on my headband, Pein. I'll see all of you in the morning."

She was followed up the stairs by a chorus of 'Good night, Tigara's. Everyone else sat and talked for a while then slowly filed up to bed.


	2. The Best Birthday Ever

Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

An Offshoot of Nari's Story

By Dawn Loge

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I don't own Naruto, I do, however, own Tigara and Ari and my sister owns Nari and several other original characters. Please have the consideration to not use them; I don't use your characters, so don't use mine or my sister's.

I have my sister's permission to use her characters, since she is also helping me with this story, otherwise, this would be rather boring.

Chapter 2

The Best Birthday Ever

The next morning, Tigara was up and dressed before the sun. She followed the doctor's orders and put a piece of candy in her mouth, writing it down on a piece of paper that she found in a desk in her room. She went and knocked on Konan's door. Not getting a response, she headed toward the kitchen. What she found there astonished her. Orochimaru was covered from the waist up in flour, standing at the stove cooking pancakes, bacon and eggs, all at the same time. Sasori was cleaning up a minor mess on the counter, while Hidan and Kisame were washing some dishes. Konan was busy in the refrigerator hunting for something or another. Pein was squeezing fresh orange juice and Zetsu came in the kitchen door with a rather large bouquet of wildflowers. Zetsu was the first one to see her and said, "Make way for the birthday girl!"

Tigara was still too shocked to speak as Pein and Sasori stopped what they were doing and escorted her to the chair at the head of the table. Somehow, she found her tongue and whispered, "Is all this for me?"

Konan had obviously found what she was looking for, because she put a heaping plate of pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs in front of her, saying, "Of course it is, Baby Bird. You don't think we would allow you to work on your birthday, do you?"

"But I thought I was supposed to help with the party?"

Orochimaru said, "You will, but your duty will be minor, compared to what the rest of us will be doing. You are going to help Pein make the ice cream. Now, what kind of syrup do you want; chocolate, strawberry, blackberry or maple?"

"Strawberry. What kind of ice cream are we making?"

Pein said, "Which do you want; chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla?"

"Strawberry. What kind of cake are we going to have?"

Konan spoke up, "I was thinking strawberry, with chocolate icing and purple flowers. Doesn't that sound good?"

"Mmmm, yeah! What time is the party?"

Kisame said, "At 3:00. We want to make sure Konan has enough time to work on the cake. Now eat while it's still hot."

Tigara devoured all of the food in front of her, along with two glasses of milk and one of orange juice. She tried to get up to put her plate in the sink, but Hidan stopped her with two hands on her shoulders, saying, "You aren't to do anything today except help Pein with the ice cream and have fun, Baby Bird." Konan took her plate and paper, putting her plate in the sink and writing down what she had eaten.

"Why does everyone call me 'Baby Bird'?"

"Probably because I found you in a tree, Baby Bird," Pein said with a chuckle.

"Ok, that makes sense now," she giggled.

"Hey, Zetsu, why don't you take our little Baby Bird out to do a little exploring of the woods near the compound?" Konan said. "Maybe the two of you will find something that can keep her occupied until lunch or Pein needs her, whichever comes first."

"Ok, Baby Bird. You go up and get changed; I'll meet you in the courtyard in ten minutes." Grinning, Tigara ran up the stairs and changed into a black dress exactly like the one she had worn the day before. She thought for about thirty seconds and grabbed her daggers, just in case. She was in the courtyard with about three minutes to spare. When Zetsu got there, she was walking on her hands on the other side of the courtyard. She saw him and came over, still walking on her hands. "I'm impressed. It takes a lot of upper body strength to do something like that. What else can you do?"

Grinning, she popped another piece of candy in her mouth and handed him her paper, saying, "Can you write down two more pieces of candy please? You might want to stand back a bit." She did a standing back flip and continued flipping and doing cartwheels around the courtyard, ending in a double flip over his head and shoving him playfully.

Chuckling, he said, "You little minx, now you're gonna get it." He chased her around the courtyard until they were both on the ground laughing. The main reason that she was laughing uncontrollably was because he was tickling her.

Pein came out and saw what was going on. He clapped his hands loudly, saying, "Alright you two, break it up, Konan rang the gong about ten minutes ago. Go get washed up." He noticed Tigara a little unsteady on her feet and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Fine, just a little out of breath. Are we gonna make the ice cream after lunch?"

"Yes, Baby Bird, we are going to make the ice cream after lunch. Now get your ass inside and get washed up like I told you to. And don't forget to check your blood sugar."

"Yes, Pein." She huffed, shoving him playfully as she passed and running inside. "I bet I make it to the kitchen before you." He ran after her, but true to her word, she beat him to the kitchen. She washed her hands in the sink, checked her sugar and tried to sit down. Sasori put his chakra strings on her and put her in the seat at the head of the table. She said, "I thought this was Pein's seat."

Konan said, "Today, it's yours. Today is your special day."

"I thought that was just for this morning."

Pein put a plate with a big hamburger and a large helping of fries in front of her and said, "Nope, it's yours the whole day. Now eat up, we have a big batch of ice cream to make." He took her paper and wrote down her lunch.

She polished off everything on her plate along with two glasses of soda and a cookie in thirty minutes flat. Hidan took her plate and put it in the sink. After Pein finished eating, he took Tigara outside where he had set up the ice cream maker. She wrote down a piece of candy and put one in her mouth, asking, "What do I need to do?"

"You, Baby Bird, are going to use your Kekkei Genkai to keep the freezer cold." She put her right hand on the ice cream maker, freezing the outer layer solid. "Not quite that cold, but it'll work for now." He put in the ingredients and turned it on. "Now we wait. We will check it in about twenty minutes. In the mean time, I want you to get your daggers." She ran to the other side of the courtyard, where she had laid them earlier before she started walking on her hands. "That was quick. Show me what you know with them."

"I don't know that much, they didn't really teach me that much about weapons at the Academy because of my age."

"In that case, we will need to work on a lot of things. That can wait until tomorrow though. Let's check this batch." He turned off the machine and opened it, the consistency was perfect so he carried it inside and brought out the ingredients for the next batch, saying, "I think the outside is still cold enough that you won't have to re-freeze it. Also, after this batch, I think we'll have enough for everybody." He filled it and turned it on. "After we check it, you will go inside and take a bath and get dressed for the party. Why don't you wear the long blue dress?"

"Yes, Pein." They checked the ice cream and Tigara went upstairs to do as she was told. Pein took the ice cream maker inside and, since it was still pretty much frozen and he had enough ingredients, decided to make a third batch.

When Konan had finished the cake, she said, "Pein, I think everything's ready, why don't you go up and retrieve the birthday girl."

Pein nodded and went upstairs. He knocked on Tigara's door, saying, "Tigara, time to come out." When she opened the door, he said, "Don't you look grown up? I want you to close your eyes tight. I'll lead you so you don't bump into anything. I don't want you peeking either."

Tigara squeezed her eyes shut and Pein took her hand leading her downstairs to the kitchen. When they got there, Konan said, "You can open your eyes now, Baby Bird."

When she did, what she saw amazed her. The entire kitchen was a mass of black and purple streamers and balloons. There was an even larger bouquet of wildflowers in the middle of the table next to a stack of presents. Zetsu sat her in her designated place and everyone sang "Happy birthday" while she blew out the candles. She checked her sugar while Orochimaru cut the cake. She showed the reading to Konan, who said, "It looks like you get to have two helpings."

Pein wrote down her party snack and, after she had finished her second dish of ice cream, handed her the first present, saying, "This one is from all of us."

Puzzled, the little girl opened it, it was an Akatsuki cloak. Konan said, "All of us have one, I'll help you shorten it temporarily until you stop growing, then we can shorten it permanently."

She continued opening her presents. Orochimaru gave her a big bag of candy, a silver brush/comb/mirror set, a journal, matching stationary, and several different colored pens, all stuffed into a dark purple pack. Kisame gave her some candy and a set of kunai. From Zetsu, she got candy and a set of shuriken. Hidan got her more candy and a set of four knives; consisting of two boot knives and two in spring-loaded wrist sheathes. Sasori gave her even more candy and a set of bodiken. Konan gave her six sets of silver hairpins and six sets of silver combs; a set of six each in ruby, emerald, sapphire, amethyst, onyx, and diamond.

Pein said, "Now that you've opened everyone else's, here's mine." He pulled a rather large package from behind the counter. She opened it curiously. It was a stunning black lacquer jewelry box with silver inlays. "Keep going, there's more." She lifted the lid, revealing a mirror on the inside of it and five stunning silver necklaces, each with a different setting of the same stones as the hairpins. She opened the top drawer, revealing five silver bracelets and six pairs of silver earrings, all with the same stones. "The bottom drawer is empty. Now you have somewhere to keep your hairpins and brush set as well."

She looked up from the box with tears in her eyes. Konan put a hand on her shoulders, saying, "What's wrong, Baby Bird? We all thought you'd like it."

Tigara smiled and said, "I do, very much. This is the best birthday I've ever had. Thank you guys so much."

Smiling, Zetsu said, "Well, it's not over yet. We still have some games to play. Konan, why don't you help her take her stash upstairs while us guys clean up? Then we'll meet back here to play something."

Konan handed Tigara the brush set, gathered the new weapons and candy, and put them in the pack. Tigara put her brush set and hairpins in the bottom drawer of her new jewelry box, hugging it to her chest as she carried it upstairs. Once in her room, Tigara put her box on the dressing table. Konan sat her in front of the mirror, saying, "I'm going to fix your hair. Your dress is so grown up; I think your hairstyle should match it." She pulled the top half of Tigara's hair into an elegant twist, leaving most of it long down her back. She used the new sapphire and diamond pins to secure it and put the sapphire necklace and earrings on the little girl. "Now all that's left is the bracelet and you're all set."

Tigara said, "I wonder what they had in mind to play. I don't know that many games."

Konan suggested, "Why don't we go down and find out? They've probably got the kitchen clean and I think I smell popcorn."

Tigara tagged the older girl on the shoulder, saying, "You're it!" With that, she ran out the door and down the stairs, only to be overtaken in the living room in a massive tickle attack.

Pein came out of the kitchen, hands on his hips and a smile on his face, saying, "What's this? I thought to see two ladies coming down the stairs and here I find two tomboys rolling around on the floor."

Tigara, sliding by the older boy, tapped him on the leg, saying, "You're it!" and ran into the kitchen, taking her seat at the head of the table.

Pein rolled his eyes and helped Konan to her feet, kissing her lightly on the lips. They followed the younger girl into the kitchen. Konan said, "Baby Bird wanted to know what we were playing. And is that popcorn I smell?"

Hidan sheepishly held up a gigantic bowl of popcorn, saying, "We were thinking Pictionary, Charades, or Trivial Pursuit, and letting the birthday girl choose which."

Tigara piped up, "I wanna play Trivial Pursuit, but I wanna pick the teams."

Smiling, Pein said, "I think that's acceptable."

Tigara grinned mischievously, saying, "Pein and Konan are pink, Kisame and Zetsu are green, Hidan and Sasori are yellow, and Orochimaru-sama and I are blue. Now, what is there to snack on?"

Hidan set up the board with the assigned pieces. Kisame said, "Well, there's still cake and ice cream, we've also got popcorn, cookies, sandwiches, chips, soda, juice, Kool-Aid, milk, what do you want?"

Tigara looked at him with an almost evil look in her eyes and said, "I'll have a little of everything, put all the sweet stuff in one bowl and all the drinks except the milk into one glass." Everyone looked at her like she was crazy and she doubled over in laughter. When she caught her breath, she said, "Don't knock it till you try it." With that she put her chips on her sandwich and took a big bite.

After everyone else had gotten their snacks, they started the game. Orochimaru and Tigara won easily. Konan asked, "How did you do that? The rest of us didn't know half what you did."

Tigara, smirking slightly, said, "I memorized this card set as soon as I could read. The rest of it was just luck of the dice."

Laughing, Pein said, "So, in other words, you cheated. You're going to fit in just fine here, Baby Bird."

They continued to play games and snack until Tigara fell asleep. Pein carried her up to her room, and then took Konan to his for the night.


	3. Finally, A Real Mission

Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

An Offshoot of Nari's Story

By Dawn Loge

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I don't own Naruto, I do, however, own Tigara and Ari and my sister owns Nari and several other original characters. Please have the consideration to not use them; I don't use your characters, so don't use mine or my sister's.

I have my sister's permission to use her characters, since she is also helping me with this story, otherwise, this would be rather boring.

Chapter 3

Finally, a Real Mission

Tigara woke early the next morning, dressed and went to find Konan. Not finding her in her room, she made her way to the kitchen. No one was there, so she started fixing a breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy for all of them. She started a pot of coffee and snuck outside. She pulled a well hidden pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one.

Orochimaru came into the kitchen, awoken by the lights and the smell of food. Not finding anyone there, he looked out the garden door. "What exactly do you think you're doing out here?"

Tigara quickly hid her cigarette, saying, "Nothing, just getting some air."

Smiling, the old man said, "And what's that behind your back?"

Tigara held out the cigarette, saying, "Fuck, I knew somebody was gonna catch me someday, I just didn't figure on it being today."

Laughing, Orochimaru said, "You have nothing to worry about, as a matter of fact, when you run out, I'll get some more for you. That way, no one asks questions."

Konan and Pein heard the laughter upon entering the kitchen. Pein stepped out and asked, "What's so funny? Baby Bird, when did you start smoking?"

Tigara blushed and answered, "I've been smoking since the day after I got my headband. I just had to hide it from my family because they didn't approve of the habit."

Konan said, "Where did you get the cigarettes? I didn't see them in your pack."

Tigara rolled her eyes and said, "A girl can't give away all her secrets, now can she?"

Laughing, Pein said, "Well, you don't need to go outside any more, Konan, Kisame, and I all smoke, so feel free to do so in the house. Just don't let any of us catch you trying to steal our cigarettes, or you'll have problems."

Orochimaru laughed and said, "I already told her that I'd get her more when she runs out, so I don't think that'll be a problem."

Tigara grinned evilly and added, "And if I need one while Orochimaru-sama is out getting me more, I'll just have to make sure I don't get caught, then. Won't I?"

Kisame wandered into the kitchen and asked, "Who cooked?"

Tigara said, "I did, only because I couldn't find Konan. OH, SHIT! I forgot that the biscuits are still in the oven. I hope they aren't burnt." She ran in and opened the oven door, pulling out the trays of perfectly golden biscuits.

Kisame sniffed the air and asked, "Who's got a lit cigarette?" Tigara took a drag and held it up, then stuck it back in her mouth while she transferred the biscuits to a towel lined basket. He asked, "Mind if I snag one? I ran out last night and just haven't made it to the village yet."

She handed him one, saying, "You owe me one."

After breakfast, Tigara's training started. Her days fell into a comfortable routine. She would get up and either make breakfast or help Konan make it. Then, training with Pein and one of the others until lunch was ready, followed by more training with Konan until supper. After supper, she'd usually be so exhausted, she would go up and take her bath and go to bed.

After about three weeks of training, one morning, Pein said, "Baby Bird, you've done well. I think it's time to send you on a mission. Since you and Konan have trained well together and make a good team, she will be joining you."

Konan asked, "What's the mission, Pein?"

Pein smiled, "You are going to be retrieving Tigara's records from Kiri. Also, anything you can carry from her family's compound. You leave in the morning. I'll expect you back in ten days."

Tigara was grinning ear to ear. She threw her arms around Pein's neck, saying, "Thank you. Finally, a real mission."

Konan took the bouncing little girl by the hand, saying, "Come on, let's get you packed before lunch, then after lunch, you can help me pack." They went up to Tigara's room and Tigara emptied her new pack. Konan asked, "Where do you keep your weapons?" Tigara went over and pulled open the bottom drawer of her dressing table, revealing all of her weapons just tossed in, with the exception of her katana, which was under her pillow. Konan said, "That won't do at all. Come with me, I think there is an empty trunk in my room." The two girls retrieved the trunk and brought it back to the younger girl's room. Konan opened the lid and said, "We'll put your katana and the matching daggers in the loops in the lid, since we won't be taking them with us this trip, because they're too easily recognized." They organized Tigara's weapons and put each type into its own compartment. "There, now that's done, we need to decide what's being taken. We need to travel rather light. Take the kunai and the shuriken. You'll be wearing the knives that Hidan gave you. I don't think we'll need them, but like Pein always says, 'It's better to have and not need, than need and not have.' We'll each take three outfits, one to wear on the way there, one for the heist itself, and one for our trip to Suna. We'll wash them in the streams along the way. I think you should take your green and wear the blue, the short ones, that way they won't hinder your movement. I think I might have something that will fit you for the heist, if not, it'll be easily altered. And don't forget your meter." As she was talking, Tigara was roaming the room gathering her things.

Tigara asked, "Why are we going to Suna? Where is Suna, anyway?"

Konan laughed, "Suna is one of the bigger villages. We're going there to sell what we can from your family's property and to buy some things. How much candy do you have left?"

Tigara rummaged in her hip pouch, saying, "Enough for about three days, if I stretch it."

"Well, I'll get some to last you until we get to Suna, then we'll buy some more while we're there. Where's your old pack?" Tigara got it out of the bottom of her closet with a curious look on her face. Konan laughed, "We'll need all the space we can get if we find anything valuable. Did your family have a safe?"

"Yeah, it's one of those top of the line models that can't be cracked, so I guess it's a good thing I know the combination, huh?"

"That's always a good thing to know. Well, when you finish at the Academy, we'll go straight to your family's complex. You go empty the safe and raid the upstairs, I'll take the downstairs. Ok, you're all packed, let's go see what Pein's fixed for lunch."

Tigara tapped the other girl on the shoulder and ran, laughing, "You're it!"

Konan got up and ran after her, but Tigara easily beat her to the kitchen. She was hiding behind Pein when Konan entered the room. "Pein's base, I'm safe."

Pein rolled his eyes, saying, "Sit down and eat, you two. Tell me how much you've accomplished."

Konan said, "Well, we've got Baby Bird completely packed, and we have a game plan for when we get to Kiri. By the way, we leave at first light, Baby Bird."

Pein nodded, saying, "Very good. Oh, Baby Bird, I don't want you using your name until you get back here. I want you two to take any valuables to Suna and sell them. We need supplies and I think all of us need cigarettes. Don't worry Baby Bird; you'll be reimbursed for the cigarettes."

Tigara giggled, "Way ahead of you, Pein. We had already decided on going to Suna."

Konan slapped herself on the forehead, "OH, SHIT! I forgot, Baby Bird, we need to see if that outfit will fit you or if I need to alter it."

Tigara nodded, and got up, having finished her lunch. Konan finished her last bite and followed the younger girl upstairs. Konan went into her room and found the outfit; Tigara took it from the older girl and changed behind her screen. When she came out, Konan burst out laughing. The outfit was about a size and a half too big, and about six inches too long in the sleeves. "It looks like I'm gonna have my work cut out for me this evening. I'll alter it after you go to bed, I'll carry it in my pack along with the food pack. You go play for a while so I can pack." With that she patted the younger girl on the backside. Tigara changed back into her dress and went outside to practice her jutsus.

After supper, Tigara went to bed since they were leaving early. Konan finished altering the outfit and did the same.

Around 5 the next morning, Tigara showed up in the kitchen with her packs, dressed and ready to go. Konan came in a few minutes later to find the little girl fixing eggs and bacon; so she started packing the food. Pein came in just as Konan finished the food pack, saying, "Are you two ready to go?" Both girls nodded. "Good, now eat and get gone. I'll see you in ten days."

They all ate and the two girls left. They got to Kiri at noon the next day. Konan said, "After lunch, you get some sleep, you'll need it, because after we do what we need to do, we won't be sleeping again until dark tomorrow."

Tigara lay down and slept while Konan kept watch. The older girl woke her shortly before dark. They ate, changed, and went into the village. Tigara went into the Academy, sticking to the shadows. She found the file room easily, as well as her family's section. She quickly located her file, which had everything the village had on her. She stuck the file in her pack and crept back out. They quickly made their way to the Akimoto compound and split up. Tigara went upstairs to her parents' room, opened the safe and emptied it. She then went through all of the bedrooms, gathering weapons, jewelry, and other valuables as she went. She got to her sister's room and stopped, tears filling her eyes. She grabbed her sister's pillowcase, a picture of the two of them, and a teddy bear and stuffed them into the bottom of her new pack. She then met back up with Konan.

Konan, meanwhile had gathered all of the family's silver, a full service for sixty, and had gone through the entire house gathering silver picture frames. The two met up at the main gate shortly before dawn.

At noon, they stopped to change and take a tally of their haul. Tigara wrote down everything and stuck the paper in her file, along with the pictures. Konan said, "I'll help you put those into an album, if you want."

The little girl nodded and stood. They repacked the bags; putting all of the silver into two packs, the file into her new one, and everything else that Konan had brought with her into the food pack. Konan carried the silver and Tigara carried everything else. They traveled until it was too dark to see and stopped for the night.


	4. Suna

Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

An Offshoot of Nari's Story

By Dawn Loge

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I don't own Naruto, I do, however, own Tigara and Ari and my sister owns Nari and several other original characters. Please have the consideration to not use them; I don't use your characters, so don't use mine or my sister's.

I have my sister's permission to use her characters, since she is also helping me with this story, otherwise, this would be rather boring.

Chapter 4

Suna

They reached Suna around ten the next morning, set up camp outside the village, and went into town. Their first stop was an antique shop to unload the silver. They haggled over the price and when they walked out, they had 100,000. Konan took about 10,000 to get supplies after they stopped at a restaurant for lunch. Tigara went to a candy store first, then to the tobacco store. She picked up Christmas presents for most of the guys next. Her last stop was a jeweler. She sold the jewelry she had gotten from her family's home, except for a few pieces that she liked. She then got some presents for Konan and Pein.

On her way back to camp, Tigara spotted two children running through the sand. She decided to sit and watch them for a while. One of them, a little girl with hair the color of a raven's wing and eyes that could only be described as mesmerizing, spotted her and came over.

"Hi. I'm Nari. This is Gaara. We're playing ninja and I'm winning."

Gaara whined, "You are not."

Nari stuck her tongue out at the boy, saying, "Yes, I am." To Tigara she said, "Wanna play? You can be on Gaara's team, since I'm winning."

Tigara laughed, "Well, I'm Tigara, and I don't think it would be fair if I was on a team, why don't you two pair up against me?"

Nari put her hands on her small hips and said, "Because I'm winning and if Gaara and I teamed up, we'd be unstoppable."

Tigara asked, "Then why don't we each be our own teams? That way, no one has to feel like they're weaker than anyone else?"

Gaara said, "That sounds like an idea to me."

Nari threw her hands in the air and huffed, "Fine, but just so you know, you're both toast."

Tigara thought, "That's what you think, little lady."

The three played for about an hour and a half before the younger two started throwing jutsus around that made Tigara step up her game. Nari said, "I've wanted to try this ever since I saw my cousin use it last year." She did the necessary hand signs and threw a jutsu at Tigara that she immediately recognized and dodged.

Tigara, getting up and dusting herself off, asked, "Just who is your cousin, Nari?"

Nari said proudly, "Uchiha Itachi. He made Chunin last summer, along with a couple of other people."

Tigara smirked, "I thought I recognized that jutsu. He used it against me too."

Nari's jaw almost hit the sand, "You mean you were the one that he battled in the final round?! I didn't recognize you."

Tigara said, "Not many do. Anyway, I gotta go, my partner is meeting me outside the village in a little while. I'll see you tomorrow, we'll be here for a few days, I hope."

Outside the village, Konan paced next to their camp. Tigara was over an hour late. When the little girl finally showed up, Konan shook her by the shoulders, "Where have you been? I've been worried sick."

Tigara pried the older girl's hands off of her, saying, "I was playing with a couple kids. One of them is the cousin of the boy that I battled in the final round of the Chunin Exams last year."

"How much did you get for the jewelry?"

"I decided to keep a few pieces, but I got 50,000 for the rest of it."

"May I see what you decided to keep?"

Tigara pulled out four matching sets of earrings, bracelets, and necklaces; the only difference in the sets was the stones in each one, one had rubies, one had amethysts, the third had sapphires, and the fourth was emeralds. She explained, "These belonged to my mother and her sisters. I kinda thought I'd keep one, give one to Ari, and the other two would go to a couple friends of mine."

Konan asked slyly, "Am I one of the friends?"

"Of course, silly; you can pick any of them but the amethysts, that one's mine."

Konan picked up the ruby set and put it on, "Thank you, Baby Bird."

They had supper and sacked out for the night. The next morning, they were rather rudely awakened by laughter coming from not far away. Konan immediately had a kunai in her hand, but Tigara kept her from throwing it, saying, "I recognize that laugh, it's the girl from yesterday. May I go play?"

Konan put the kunai back into her pouch, saying, "Eat some breakfast first, then go ahead. We're leaving in the morning."

Tigara ate quickly and then ran off to play with the two younger children. She caught up to them and said, "Hey, guys. I'd like to give you something, if you want it."

Nari asked, "What is it?"

Tigara handed Gaara a carnelian ring and held up the two necklaces, saying, "Pick one, Nari."

Nari said, "I want the green one. It matches my eyes."

Tigara helped the little girl put the necklace on, and then pulled out the earrings and bracelet, saying, "It's a set, I have one too, only mine's amethysts. This way, we'll always know each other when we see each other."

Nari looked up, confused, "What do you mean?"

Tigara looked at the ground sadly, and said, "I have to leave tomorrow morning."

Gaara's lip twitched into what could only be described as an attempted smile, and said, "Then we had better get busy then. We want to have as much fun with you as we can."

Tigara clapped the boy on the shoulder and took off running, saying, "You're it!"

Gaara chased the two girls, eventually catching Nari, making her it. They played tag for over three hours before Gaara's uncle came out to get the younger two for lunch. Nari said, "Can our friend join us? We're gonna play some more after."

The man said, "I think that'll be fine. Does she need to tell anyone where she'll be?"

Tigara said, "No, my friend knows I'm playing with these two. I don't have to meet back up with her until just before dark."

The three played for the rest of the day, until it was time for Tigara to go, then it was a very tear-filled goodbye.

Konan and Tigara left the next morning before sunup and arrived back at the lair just before noon the following day, at the same time as the rest of the guys got back from their respective missions. Zetsu asked, "And just where have you two been?"

Tigara was bouncing on her toes and Konan said, "We just got back from her first real mission. Why don't you guys go wash up upstairs, we'll surprise Pein and tell him that you guys are back too."

They split up, Konan and Tigara going through the garden and the guys through the front door. Pein was fixing himself a sandwich when the girls came in. "Hey, you two. I didn't expect you back for a couple more days yet."

Konan said, "Full mission accomplished. We did what we set out to do and Baby Bird made a couple friends in Suna."

Pein said, "Oh, really? Who?"

Tigara shrugged, "Just a couple of kids. By the way, the guys are back too."

Just as she finished the sentence, all five guys came in. Pein said, "Reports, gentlemen?"

Orochimaru and Kisame said simultaneously, "Mission accomplished."

Pein turned back to his sandwich, saying, "Well, let's eat lunch while Tigara shares what she did."

They all fixed their plates and Tigara handed Pein her file. He opened it and moved the pictures. "Birth certificate, you hang on to that one, Baby Bird…Medical record, we'll give that to the medic next time she's here…Education record, that's what I wanted to see…Entered Academy at four, graduated at six…Transformation, Excellent…this one's not usually taught, Animal Transformation, Excellent…Weapons, not trained…Water Clones, Excellent…Other jutsus merely passable…Chunin Exams at seven, one of only two that year to achieve the rank…Akimoto Tigara and Uchiha Itachi battled in final round, both passed out, Uchiha from Chakra drain, Akimoto due to low blood sugar, her family probably knows…Obviously they didn't or they just didn't explain the situation to you…Killed her clan 6/23/88, leaving only her sister, age two…Classified S-class 6/24/88…Well, it looks like you have some pictures here, I'm guessing Konan is going to help you put them into an album. What else did you…Never mind, you listed it out. Well, it would appear that you got a handsome amount for the silver, the jewelry I would have thought you'd get more for. Why did you only get fifty thousand?"

Tigara swallowed and said, "I decided to keep some of the pieces."

Pein asked, "May I see the pieces you decided to keep?"

Tigara spread out eighteen rings, saying, "Each of you get one, because I don't know when your birthdays are, including you, Konan." Pein picked out a garnet; Konan chose a ruby; Kisame got a blue diamond; Zetsu picked a tiger's eye; Orochimaru selected an onyx; Hidan chose an alexandrite; and Sasori picked an opal. Tigara put the rest back and said, "I'll give one to any new members that join, too. That way, it'll be like a link, another way to recognize each other. If you'll notice, they all have a different symbol engraved in the top of the stone. These rings were specific to my family; they were the ones who put the symbols on them. They were the only ones who knew the meanings of the symbols. Mine's an amethyst with the symbol for spirit. If you want, I'll tell you what your symbols mean." They all nodded. "Pein, yours is wolf, it was my father's. Konan, yours is fox, it belonged to my mother. Orochimaru-sama, you got the snake, it was my grandfather's. Kisame's is fish, it belonged to my grandmother. Zetsu's is tree; it belonged to my father's brother. Hidan, you got the phoenix, it was my mother's sister's. Sasori got the rock; it belonged to my father's sister. Mine has been mine since the day I was born."

They finished lunch in silence. The next few months fell into a comfortable routine. Tigara went on a few more missions with Konan, but otherwise she trained.


	5. Christmas

Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

An Offshoot of Nari's Story

By Dawn Loge

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I don't own Naruto, I do, however, own Tigara and Ari and my sister owns Nari and several other original characters. Please have the consideration to not use them; I don't use your characters, so don't use mine or my sister's.

I have my sister's permission to use her characters, since she is also helping me with this story, otherwise, this would be rather boring.

Chapter 5

Christmas

Tigara woke up before the sun and went through the house banging on doors and screaming, "Wake up, it's Christmas. Wake up, wake up."

Everyone came out of their rooms rubbing their eyes and tying on their robes. They were all thinking the same thing, "Why is it that kids get so worked up at Christmastime?" Then they saw Tigara's face when she looked at the pile of presents under the tree and remembered.

Tigara went to the tree and said, "I know it's a tradition for the kids to open theirs first, but I'd like you guys to open the ones from me first."

Pein picked up his camera and started snapping photos. Tigara took the camera, handing it to Konan, and handed the first package to Pein. He opened it, and stared. Inside the box was a gorgeous garnet cloak pin. He said, "Tigara, you shouldn't have. This must have cost a fortune."

Tigara grinned, "Not really, it was on clearance. 90 off, and they engraved the stone for free. I had a feeling you'd pick the garnet ring, that's why I picked it."

He hugged the little girl with tears in his eyes. She gave Pein back his camera and handed the rest of the guys their gifts. She had gotten a silly hat for Kisame. Hidan and Sasori got shirts. Orochimaru and Zetsu received blankets. Konan's was last.

She handed the older girl the package, saying, "I had a feeling you'd pick the rubies, so I got this for you."

Konan took the package and opened it. It was a black lacquer jewelry box with gold inlays, similar to Tigara's but smaller. Konan opened it to reveal two sets of hairpins and two sets of combs, gold with rubies and diamonds. Konan threw her arms around the other girl, tears flowing freely down her cheeks, "Tigara, I don't know what to say. Thank you so much."

Tigara said, "Now we can be twins."

Konan sat the little girl next to her and said, "Now it's your turn to open presents, and I don't want any arguments."

Orochimaru gave the little girl some more of the matching stationary, another journal, some more pens, a carton of clove cigarettes, and a pound and a half of hard candy. Zetsu gave her some more candy and another set of shuriken. From Kisame, she got more candy, a carton of her regular cigarettes (menthol light 120s), and another set of kunai. Sasori gave her even more candy and another set of bodiken. Hidan got her a sharpening kit for her weapons, some more candy, and a rather large bottle of lavender perfume. Pein handed her the last three packages, one at a time, saying, "This one is from me, the next one is from Konan, the third is from both of us." She opened them in order. The first one was two cartons of her cigarettes. The second contained a large bottle of Body by Victoria perfume. The third was a ring set that matched her birthday jewelry. Konan noticed the tears in the younger girl's eyes and said, "We got them all at the same time. I thought you'd like the perfume."

Tigara looked up, smiling through her tears, and said, "I do, I love everything. It's just that this is the best Christmas I've ever had."

Orochimaru had disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a tray of hot cinnamon rolls just as a knock was heard on the front door. Sasori answered it, bringing the stranger into the room. The stranger lowered his hood and everyone gasped. The stranger said, "I'm Ogawa Kakuzu. I'm looking for the Akatsuki. I'd like to join."

Pein said, "Talk about timing, we were just about to have breakfast. Merry Christmas and welcome to the Akatsuki. I apologize that we don't have more than a couple presents for you though."

Tigara had run upstairs as soon as the new arrival said 'join' and returned shortly after Pein had finished speaking. She handed him a topaz ring, and said, "Merry Christmas. The symbol means raven. I heard that your partners have a tendency to end up dead, is that true?"

Kakuzu laughed, "Well, what have we here? Yes, young lady, it is true. And who might you be; the Akatsuki mascot?"

Tigara glared at him and said, "I'm Akimoto Tigara, and I'll kick your ass six ways from Sunday without breaking a sweat."

Kakuzu's jaw hit the floor, "Do you mean to tell me that you're the little girl who killed her clan early this summer? I'm honored to be in the presence of the youngest S-class criminal in the history of the Hidden Countries." He bowed low.

Tigara looked at Orochimaru and asked, "What the fuck is he talking about?"

Pein said, "Calm down, Baby Bird. He's giving you a compliment, learn how to accept one. I have a feeling it won't be the last you get."

Orochimaru said, "Let's worry about all this later and eat before these things get cold. Sasori, go in and grab the cocoa tray and an extra plate, will you?"

Tigara said, "I don't need a plate. He can have mine. I'm just gonna have one roll and one cup of cocoa and head upstairs to get dressed."

Pein said, "Oh, that reminds me, everybody dress nice, I want a picture. I want to start a tradition."

Tigara ate quickly and ran upstairs. Konan finished her breakfast and followed the little girl. She knocked on Tigara's door and opened it. "I have a suggestion. Why don't you wear your long purple dress? I have a burgundy, that way we can wear our matching jewelry."

Tigara grinned mischievously at the older girl, saying, "I planned on it. Could you help me with my hair though? I can never get it right. I can braid it fine and tails are easy, but I can't seem to do anything else with it."

Konan went to her room and retrieved her dress and curling iron. Upon her return, she noticed that the little girl was having a little trouble with the buttons on her dress. She sat the redhead down and finished buttoning the dress, then went to work on her hair. She combed it out, curled it and pulled the sides back, using her amethyst combs and diamond pins. She then did the same thing to her own hair. When she finished, she put a little bit of makeup on both of them and put some of the little girl's new perfume on her.

When they got downstairs, no one else was there, so they decided to play a little trick. Konan sat in the overstuffed chair and Tigara sat on the arm of the same chair. Orochimaru was the first one back and he had to do a double take. He said, "I thought I was seeing double for a moment. You two are absolutely stunning."

Kakuzu was the next to enter the room. When he saw the girls, all he could do was stare. Once he finally found his tongue, he whispered, "Tigara, you're utterly captivating."

The rest of the guys gave similar reactions, although Hidan actually passed out. Pein set up the camera while the rest of the guys revived Hidan. Pein said, "Ok, people, the camera's ready. Get your asses in gear so we can get this room cleaned up and lunch going. Tall ones in the back, behind the chair; Konan and Baby Bird, you two don't move." He used the viewfinder to position everyone. "Alright, that's enough fucking around, I want serious here." Once everyone was in place, he set the timer and took his place. "Ok, I want one more serious one; then we can do a crazy." He set the timer again and took two more shots, one serious, followed by a silly shot.

Konan said, "You guys clean up in here. Baby Bird and I are going in to get started on lunch. Kakuzu, would you mind helping us in the kitchen, please?"

Kakuzu followed the two girls into the kitchen. Once there, he asked, "Why does everyone call Tigara 'Baby Bird'?"

Konan and Tigara giggled, and Konan said, "Well, Pein found her hiding in a tree from the Kiri search party. That was almost a week after she killed her clan."

He asked, "Tigara, if I might be so bold, why did you kill your clan?"

"Several of my uncles and cousins raped me."

"Why didn't you go to the Mizukage?"

"I did, but he brushed it off."

"Why didn't you run away?"

"I tried, but they kept bringing me back."

"So you just killed them? That seems a little harsh."

"One of my aunts had followed me one of the times I went to the Mizukage. She went back and told the other women what I had done, even though she didn't hear the Mizukage brush me off again, and they decided to kill me in my sleep early the next morning. They didn't know that I was in the closet hiding from my cousin and heard the entire conversation. I killed them in their sleep that night before they could kill me. I also did it to spare my baby sister from the same experience."

"Why would they name you an S-class criminal, then, if it was justified?"

"The Mizukage must have thought that, if I could kill my family without any remorse, I wouldn't hesitate to kill again. He thought wrong, though. I refuse to kill unless I have no choice. I've always felt that way."

Pein came in then. He said, "I knew you felt that way. That's why none of your missions have been assassinations."

"And I appreciate that, Pein. I'd kind of like a couple infiltration missions though; maybe by myself."

Pein said, "I'll think about it, Baby Bird."

"Thank you, Pein." She went to the doorway and shouted, "Don't you dare throw away that wrapping paper. Bag it and put it in my room. Same goes for the ribbons."

Orochimaru took the two bags up to the little girl's room and Kisame came into the kitchen. He asked, "Need an extra pair of hands?"

Konan said, "Set the table, and don't forget that there are nine of us now."

Kisame set the table and Konan hollered from the doorway, "Come and get it, guys."

Pein pulled a bottle and nine glasses out of the cupboard, saying, "I think we need to have a toast." He passed around the filled glasses, saying, "To old friends and new beginnings."

Everyone made the toast, and Tigara sputtered when the liquid hit her throat. "What is that stuff?"

Pein said, "I'm sorry, Baby Bird. It's Sake. I thought you'd had it before. Otherwise I would have warned you about the burn."

Konan handed her a small piece of cheese, saying, "This'll help. We usually reserve Sake for special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, and New Year's Eve; mainly because we can't always afford it."

Tigara said, "Well, you now have one of the richest girls in all of the hidden countries in residence, so don't worry about money anymore. Got it, girl?"

Konan said, "Yes, ma'am. Now, dig in, everyone, before it gets cold."

Pein said, "I think all of us could use a break. No training or missions until after the New Year." Everyone cheered.

After the lunch cleanup, they played games all afternoon. When they got hungry, they snacked. None of them went to bed until rather late.


	6. The New Arrival

Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

An Offshoot of Nari's Story

By Dawn Loge

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I don't own Naruto, I do, however, own Tigara and Ari and my sister owns Nari and several other original characters. Please have the consideration to not use them; I don't use your characters, so don't use mine or my sister's.

I have my sister's permission to use her characters, since she is also helping me with this story, otherwise, this would be rather boring.

Chapter 6

The New Arrival

A couple of years passed, Tigara grew more adept with her weapons and her other skills. She trained and went on the occasional mission with Konan, but most of her missions were solo. It was on one of her solo missions to Konoha that it happened.

A black-haired boy came running toward her camp in the middle of the night. She woke with a start when she heard the movement, and grabbed a kunai. "Who's there? Show yourself or get hurt." He said nothing, but came into the beam of her flashlight. She dropped the kunai and nearly dropped the flashlight when she saw the amount of blood the boy was covered in. "It would appear that someone beat me to that. What happened?" Still the boy said nothing. "Are you going to answer any of my questions or just make me guess?" The boy smirked and folded his arms. "I know that smirk, Uchiha Itachi. You had it on your face right before I dodged your final jutsu in the Chunin Exams. Of course, we both passed out right after that."

Itachi's jaw hit the ground. He said, "How? Who? What?"

Tigara laughed, "I'll explain later. Are you hurt, or is that someone else's blood?"

Itachi finally looked down and said, "Oh, that. It's not mine. I have to leave Konoha."

Tigara had packed up her few belongings that were loose and said, "Come with me, I'll explain about me along the way. Then you can tell me what happened."

Itachi took her pack and walked with the younger girl. She said, "I know all those things about the Chunin Exams because I'm Akimoto Tigara."

Since he had also taken the flashlight, he turned and took a good look at his companion. "OH MY GOD! I thought that girl was killed with her clan."

Tigara laughed again, "Why would I have been killed with them when I was the one that killed them? Now, why do you have to leave?"

Itachi turned and kept walking. "I killed my clan because I thought they killed my favorite cousin. With my father's dying breath, he said that she wasn't dead, but that if he ever found her, he'd kill her himself."

Tigara looked over at him confused. "Who's your cousin? When did she supposedly die?"

"I thought they had killed her on her and Sasuke's birthday, July 23, of two years ago. Her name was Nari."

Tigara said thoughtfully, "I met a little girl on August 1 of that year named Nari. She said that she saw her cousin use a particular jutsu that I recognized. I asked her about her cousin and she said it was you."

Itachi froze in his tracks, spun and grabbed Tigara by the shoulders. "You mean you saw Nari? Where was she? How is she?"

Tigara pried his fingers off of her shoulders and said, "Yeah, I see her all the time. She's in Suna at the moment, although she'll probably be back in Konoha by the start of school. She's fine, in fact, she's my best friend. Now, can you tell me something? My little sister was adopted a couple years ago by someone in the Leaf Village. Do you know her and can you tell me if she's alright?"

"How old is she and what's her name?"

"Her name's Ari and she turned four this past May."

"The Hokage brought a little girl to our house around July a couple years ago and said she needed adopted, but Father said no. I think he said her name was Ari. I seem to remember that the medic adopted her. I see her around sometimes, but she's never alone, so I don't know her that well. Her brother, Kabuto, is my best friend, though, so I get reports on what she's done recently. He said that she got her Kekkei Genkai on her birthday, ice fist or something like that. Where are you taking me, anyway?"

"Just as long as I know she's ok. I'm taking you to the Akatsuki; as a matter of fact, we should be able to see it shortly."

They continued walking in comfortable silence the rest of the way, which was only a couple hundred more yards. When they got there, no one was up, so Tigara took him straight upstairs. She said, "This'll be your room, mine is next door. I'm not entirely sure, but I think there's a door connecting these two rooms. I don't know, because I've never opened it."

Itachi pulled her into his room, closed the door and turned on the light. What he saw stopped him in his tracks, "You're even more beautiful than I remember." He kissed her lightly on the forehead and said, "Let's find out about that door, shall we?" He went over and opened it. True enough, it led straight into her room.

She passed through the opening and said, "The bathroom is next door. Get cleaned up and try to get some sleep. Oh, before I forget, I have something for you." She rummaged in her jewelry box and handed him a stunning rare red diamond ring. "The symbol on it means dragon. See you in a couple hours, Itachi." She kissed him on the cheek, like a sister would, and closed the door.

She soon found that she couldn't sleep. So she dressed and headed to the kitchen. Orochimaru came in to the smell of bacon, eggs, biscuits, and coffee. Not seeing anyone, he stepped into the garden. "Didn't Pein tell you that you didn't need to smoke outside? And why are you home so soon, Baby Bird? Your mission was supposed to last another week, wasn't it?"

She put out her cigarette and glared at him on her way in. "Something came up. You'll see what when he comes down for breakfast, so no more questions." She set the table, dished everything and put it on the table. Then she rang the gong and took her seat at the end of the table. Itachi was the first one down, looking as bad as he had the night before, minus the blood. "Good morning; didn't sleep, did you?"

The boy shook his head and sat next to her. Orochimaru took his seat next to the other end, eying the boy suspiciously. The rest of the Akatsuki filed in and took their seats. Tigara said, "Morning, troops. I'd like to introduce the newest member of our ranks. Uchiha Itachi. He pulled a me for similar reasons. Only he didn't realize it at the time." Itachi looked at her confused, so she explained, "The reason I killed my clan is because; number one, the men in my family had been raping me and no one was going to do anything about it; and number two, the women found out that I had gone to the Mizukage and were going to kill me in my sleep. I left Ari alive because I did it all for her; I didn't want her to have to go through the same things I had."

Itachi's eyebrows rose, "Good reasons." Kakuzu looked at the little girl shocked. Everyone else had proud looks on their faces.

The rest of the meal was eaten in relative silence. Toward the end of it, Pein said, "Itachi, Baby Bird, I want the two of you to train together for a while."

Tigara said, "Yes, Pein."

Itachi asked, "Why do all of you call her Baby Bird?"

Konan laughed, "It's a nickname we came up with because Pein found her hiding in a tree."

"That makes sense, I guess. I still prefer her name, though."

Tigara blushed furiously and ran outside to the garden. Itachi followed her. When he found her hiding in a peach tree, he asked, "Did I say something wrong, Tigara?"

"No, I just got used to being called Baby Bird. The only other person that calls me by my name is Nari. But she usually shortens it to 'Tig'."

"Just so long as I didn't offend you; should we start training then?"

"Right after I wash the blood out of your clothes. Otherwise it'll stain terribly."

Itachi laughed, "I set them to soak in the bathtub. I just hope no one decided they needed to use it this morning."

"Would you like a tour of the house?"

"Sure, as long as we end up in your room."

"Why my room?"

"Oh, I don't know, but I have a few ideas."

Tigara said, jumping down from the tree, "You'll have to beat me in a fight before you get into my bed."

Itachi smirked, "That shouldn't be too hard."

Tigara took a fighting stance, "Give it your best shot. I'll have you pinned in three moves; I'll even give you the first move."

"Cocky little thing aren't you?" Itachi lunged at the younger girl, but true to her word, she had him pinned.

"Do you yield?"

"Never."

She twisted his arm up behind his back. "Do…you…yield?"

"Not on your life."

She twisted the other arm. "Yield, already, your face is turning blue."

"Alright, I give, you win." As she climbed off of him, he grabbed her wrists and pinned her to the ground, straddling her hips.

"Let me up."

"Now why would I do that, I like this position."

She flipped, effectively reversing the hold he had on her, "Because I said so."

"I like this position even better," he said, raising his hips under her.

She blushed crimson and ran inside. He got up and followed, only to see the heel of her boot heading up the stairs. He went up and heard the lock on her door click. He smirked and went to his room, also locking his door, and went straight to the connecting door. He opened it to find her crying on her bed. Knowing he was the cause, he went over, sat next to her and started smoothing her hair. "Whatever I did or said, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I'm the one who needs to apologize; I shouldn't have run off like I did. Although, I would appreciate it greatly if you didn't try anything like that in the future without my permission."

"I'm sorry. I just got caught up in the moment. It won't happen again unless you tell me you want it. Deal?" he extended his hand.

"Deal," she took his hand and shook it, pulling herself up in the process. "Shall we take that tour now?"

"Sure, why not."

She led him around the house, ending up in the kitchen. Since it was nearly noon, the two of them decided to go ahead and fix lunch. Itachi rang the gong when it was ready. The rest filed in and filled their seats and plates. Pein asked, "Baby Bird, did you fix this, it's delicious?"

Tigara said, "Nope, 'Tachi did. He's got a few hidden talents, doesn't he?"

Itachi smirked, "You mean kind of like you? I can't take all the credit, Tigara was a great help. I don't think I could have finished it in time without her."

Tigara blushed crimson and started eating. Konan said, "I saw the two of you training. Itachi, were you going easy on our little Baby Bird?"

"Not really, ma'am. I mean, I didn't use my best shots, but I didn't pull any punches either."

Pein said, "I think it might be a good idea for the two of you to be a team, for a while. You seem to work well together. I'll have to watch a few more training sessions, but I think we may team the two of you up permanently."

They finished lunch in silence and Tigara and Itachi went out to train.

A couple weeks later, Tigara and Itachi were in the middle of a fierce training session, when they heard a knock on the main gate. They both went to answer it. The bespectacled silver-haired boy started, "I'm looking for…Itachi? Damn, I guess I found the right place. And who might this charming young thing be?"

Tigara blushed, and Itachi said, "Akimoto Tigara, may I introduce my best friend, Yakushi Kabuto. Kabu, this is Tigara. How is Ari? We were just about to go in and fix lunch, care to help?"

"Ari's fine, she's growing like a weed, and getting stronger by the day. She'll start the Academy next fall, since the semester has already started. Why do you mention the squirt anyway?"

Looking at Tigara and noticing the relieved look on her face, Itachi said, "Oh, no particular reason. Now, how about helping us fix lunch?"

The three of them headed into the kitchen by way of the garden; Tigara gathered some fresh herbs on their way in. When they got inside, the little girl handed each of the boys a knife, cutting board and some vegetables. "You two chop those, the peppers and onions I need kinda fine, the rest just slice. Then stand back and watch a master work." Having said that, she went and rummaged in the fridge and cabinets, pulling out everything she needed to make spaghetti. She pulled out another cutting board and started chopping the herbs, having already put a pot of water on to boil. When everything was done, Kabuto set the table and Itachi rang the gong.

Taking his seat, Itachi said, "Kabu, why don't you sit second from the other end on the other side."

Pushing up his glasses with two fingers, Kabuto said, "I'd rather sit by the chef." With that, he took the seat opposite Itachi with a sheepish grin, earning him a deathglare from the other boy.

Pein came in, sniffing, "Baby Bird, I smell your famous spaghetti. Would someone introduce our guest?"

Itachi said, "I will, once everyone else is here." When everyone had taken their seats, he said, "Troops, I'd like to introduce my best friend, Yakushi Kabuto. Although I'd kind of like him to, I highly doubt he'll be staying long enough to become an official member. He can be trusted not to reveal our location."

Everyone introduced themselves and went about their lunch. After finishing two helpings, Orochimaru said, "Excellent as always, Baby Bird." A round of "Hear here" followed.

Itachi asked, "Where did you learn to cook like that, Tigara?"

Looking down at her plate, she said, "My grandmother taught me." Anyone would have been deaf not to hear the tears in her voice. Not saying another word, she excused herself from the table, running from the room as fast as she could.

Kabuto asked, "What's her problem?"

Konan said, "Her family is a rather sensitive subject. I suggest you not bring it up for the duration of your stay. Itachi, go to her." Itachi nodded and stood, grabbing Tigara's pack of cigarettes and lighter on his way out.

Itachi knew she would have locked her door, so he went through his room and found her, once again, crying into her pillow. Setting the pack down and grabbing two clove cigarettes, he went over to the bed, lighting them on the way. Handing her one, he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Sitting up and taking the cigarette, she said, "There's no way you could have. Since when do you smoke, and who said you could have one of mine?"

"I've been smoking for almost a year, and I'll replace this one out of my supply in my room." Smirking, he added, "Is there anything else I need to know about you so I don't send you crying to your room constantly?"

"My father taught me most of my hand fighting; my mother taught me gymnastics; all of the adults helped me master my Kekkei Genkais; my grandmother taught me how to cook and tend a garden; my grandfather taught me how to fish and hunt. I think that's about it, but if you mention any of this to anyone else, and I do mean anyone, I'm gonna have to kick your ass." The last phrase was said with a smile on her face.

They finished their cigarettes and headed back outside for some more training, this time, joined by Kabuto, who was just finishing his own cigarette out in the courtyard. Each of them was holding their own fairly well until Tigara got behind Kabuto, shoving him into Itachi and both boys ended up on the ground laughing, saying, "We yield. You win."

As the three of them dusted themselves off and headed toward the garden, Kabuto asked, "How old are you, Tig?"

"Eleven."

"Damn, Tach, we just got our asses handed to us by a girl, and a kid to boot."

"Fuck, Kabu, I'd be willing to bet anything if both of us hadn't passed out in the Chunin Exams, she would have beaten me then, and she was only seven."

Tigara started swaying and said, "I gotta get inside, I gotta eat something. Now!"

Itachi caught her just before she fell hard on her backside, and the two boys carried her to the kitchen, where Kabuto fixed her some peanut butter crackers and juice. Itachi asked, "How do you know what to do, Kabu?"

"Ari's diabetic. She gets dizzy sometimes and when she says she's hungry, this is usually what Dad fixed her."

Tigara looked a bit crestfallen and asked, "How long have you guys known about her being diabetic?"

"The day after Dad adopted her, Lady Tsunade came to the house saying that there was a recently adopted little girl that needed to be watched for low blood sugar, because her sister had just been treated for a severe case of it. Dad asked the little girl's name and Lady Tsunade said, 'Akimoto Ari.' Ari heard her name and came in, she asked, 'What's wrong with 'Ara?' and Lady Tsunade said, 'She'll be alright, but if you get dizzy or feel like you need to eat something, tell your papa or brother, ok?'"

"I never did get my medic's name."

Kabuto smacked his forehead, "I didn't even make the connection until just now. That's why you asked about Ari, isn't it, Tach? You're Ari's big sister. If you don't mind my asking, why did you leave her in Konoha? Why didn't you stay too? The Hokage wanted to know the same thing, but we didn't have any answers for him."

Itachi looked at Tigara and said, "I think I might know the answer to that, even without her saying anything. Pein. He probably told her that she wouldn't be welcomed, because of what she'd done. He saw potential. What he didn't see at the time, was her morals. Am I right, Tig?"

Tigara looked at her glass and nodded, "I only did what I did to protect Ari and because I didn't have a choice. I left her in Konoha because I thought I didn't have a choice. If I had thought for an instant that I would have been accepted as well, I would have stayed, but Pein said that I'd be killed."

Kabuto asked, "How are you feeling now, Squirt?"

"Better, I'm going up to my room until it's time to fix supper. I'd like both of you to help, if you don't mind." She got up and left, not waiting for a response.

Itachi picked up her plate and glass and washed them. He wheeled on Kabuto, "Why did you have to upset her like that? I've been doing my best to not see her run from the room, whether it's blushing or crying, and…(Growls)…just forget it. You are helping us with supper, whether you had other plans or not, got it?" The older boy nodded, so Itachi headed upstairs. What he saw when he opened the connecting door of their rooms astonished him. "What the fuck happened in here, Tig?"

"I can't find something. I think someone has been in here without my permission."

Holding up his hands, Itachi said, "I never come in here unless you're in here. But if you'll tell me what it is you can't find, and the last place you had it, maybe I can help you find it."

"It's a silver triple frame; it's got a separate picture each of me, Ari, and Nari in it. I keep it folded and stuck in the drawer of my dressing table and it's not there," she said on the verge of tears.

Handing her a cigarette out of his pack, he ordered, "Sit down, smoke that, and chill out. We'll find it, right after I clean up this disaster area. I'm guessing all of this came out of the dressing table, since it's all in that general vicinity." He picked up the thrown items and placed them gently and neatly back in the dressing table. He had to put the drawers back, because she had pulled them out, and as he did, something fell into the slot of one of them. He pulled the drawer back out, he saw what looked like a silver book. Holding it up, he asked, "Is this what you couldn't find?" Tigara nodded, blushing. "It had gotten stuck above the drawer, how I can't say, but it's found now. I would suggest you put it someplace else, just so it doesn't get lost again." He opened it, seeing a picture of Tigara, taken on her last birthday; a very old picture of Ari; and a picture of Nari with sand in her black hair. "I'll ask Kabu if he has any more recent pictures of Ari, then you can put this one in your photo album. Anyway, I think I need to apologize to Kabu; just because I thought he upset you and I yelled at him. Let's get downstairs and fix supper."

Tigara said, "I wanted to give Kabuto something, I'll get it and we'll head down together, ok?" She retrieved a ring out of her jewelry box and the two of them headed downstairs. She handed the ring to Kabuto, saying, "The symbol means beetle and the stone's hematite. I want to apologize for heading off like I did. I just needed to look at a picture I had, but I couldn't find it."

Itachi put in, "You should have seen the mess she made. I need to apologize also. I shouldn't have gotten mad like I did. By the way, do you have any recent pictures of Ari? The one she has was apparently taken on Ari's second birthday. Where is Tigara?"

Said girl came in with a handful of herbs from the garden. "I'm right here, Tachi. Jeez, what are you, my big brother?"

Kabuto said, "Apologies accepted, both of you. I do have a picture of Ari; it was taken this year on her birthday. It's in my pack. I'll get it for you after supper."

Tigara had been going around the room getting various items. She handed Kabuto a grater, bowl, and a rather large chunk of Parmesan cheese and handed Itachi a knife, cutting board and some chicken breasts. She said, "I presume you both know how to use those, now get busy. Chunk the chicken, Tachi; and Kabuto, I need all that cheese grated. I'm making my grandmother's chicken alfredo." She took care of the herbs and some green beans. She also made homemade garlic bread.

Pein and Kisame wandered in just before it finished cooking. Pein asked, "Need any help?"

Itachi said, "You two can set the table. By the time you're done, it'll be ready."

Tigara put everything in big bowls and the bread in a basket. Kabuto set out milk, water, and a pitcher of iced tea. Itachi rang the gong and the five took their seats.

Two weeks later, Kabuto and Orochimaru left for the Sound Village, to a very teary Tigara. Itachi and Tigara were teamed for training for good.


	7. Bad Company

Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

An Offshoot of Nari's Story

By Dawn Loge

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I don't own Naruto, I do, however, own Tigara and Ari and my sister owns Nari and several other original characters. Please have the consideration to not use them; I don't use your characters, so don't use mine or my sister's.

I have my sister's permission to use her characters, since she is also helping me with this story, otherwise, this would be rather boring.

Author's note: Sorry it took so long, had a major case of writers block and needed Nari's help on some shit, but here it is, enjoy…Please review!

Chapter 7

Bad Company

A month after Orochimaru left, Pein announced at breakfast, "Uchiha, I have a mission for you. There's an assassin I want recruited, and I think you're about the only one, other than Baby Bird, who can beat him. Kisame, Sasori, you'll be accompanying him."

Itachi nodded and went back to his food. Tigara asked, "Why can't we both go?"

Pein said, "I'm not entirely certain, but I think you might have a history with this one."

Tigara scowled, "I don't like the sound of that. What kind of history?"

Pein said, "I'm not gonna get into it at breakfast, and I don't answer to you, young lady. Drop it, now."

Tigara slammed her fork down and got up, storming out and up the stairs. Itachi finished his breakfast and went to find her. He found her fuming in her room. He asked, "What's wrong? Why are you so pissed?"

"Pein always tells me why he won't send me on a mission, or at least give me a decent reason why he won't tell me. This isn't like him. Unless…"

"Unless, what, Tig?"

"You've never seen my scar, have you?"

"What scar? I didn't know you had one."

She went behind her screen, coming back out wrapped in an oversized towel. She lowered the towel on her left side, revealing a scar about four inches long and shaped like a fish hook. "I got this on the way home after the second phase of the Chunin Exams. My team and I were attacked and the others were killed. I was hit by a piece of exploding clay. I never got a good look at the guy, but since this was all I ended up with, the medics deemed me fit to continue with the exams. And, as you know, it didn't affect my performance."

"Shouldn't that have gone into your medical records?"

"It should have, but it didn't. Don't ask me why, because I don't know. But, if Pein doesn't want to tell me anything, it might be the same guy. Just promise me you'll be careful."

He kissed her forehead and hugged her, saying, "I promise. I'll be back in one piece."

He released her and got ready to go. The three guys left after lunch.

Tigara fretted and watched for the three days that they were gone; not sleeping and only eating when her sugar dropped. When they got back, she ran and hugged all three of them, but wouldn't let go of Itachi. She looked suspiciously at the new arrival. She said, "Lunch is ready."

The five of them went in to lunch in silence. Pein noticed Tigara's looks of unease and said, "Well, I guess we need to do introductions. The one shooting daggers with her eyes is Akimoto Tigara, the other woman is Konan. I'm Pein, I'm guessing that you know the three that brought you in, the 'gentleman' to your right is Zetsu, across from him is Hidan, and next to him is Kakuzu. You are Koshigawa Deidara. Welcome to the Akatsuki."

Deidara said, "Akimoto, I did a job for a clan by that name a while back. Are you from Kiri?"

Tigara clutched her fork and growled. Itachi anticipated her move and jumped up at the same time she did, holding her back. She screamed, "YOU KILLED MY TEAM, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!"

"Tigara, calm down," Itachi whispered in her ear.

"I'm gonna rip his heart out and feed it to him!"

"Come!" Itachi grabbed her shoulders and directed her from the room and up the stairs

"NO! Gimme one shot at that bastard and he'll regret ever hearing the name Akimoto."

Pein stood up and gave the girl a glare, "Go, Tigara, I will not tolerate that kind of behavior."

She glared back as best she could, considering she was being forced through the doorway.

Deidara looked around at the others, who all had looks of shock, amazement, or some combination of both on their faces. Konan mouthed to Pein, "That wasn't in her file."

Itachi forced Tigara up to their shared bathroom and into the tub, where he turned the shower on full blast cold. Tigara gasped and said, "I'm gonna flatten you, Uchiha Itachi!"

He threw her on her bed and lit two cigarettes from her pack, saying, "Smoke that and change, we're going up to train. Someone else can fix supper tonight."

"I don't wanna train, I wanna kill somebody. And no amount of training is going to change that."

"I'm aware of that, but killing him won't bring your friends back."

"I know that, but it might make me feel better about their deaths."

"No, it won't, trust me on that one. Come on. Let's work off some of this energy."

"Fine, but I'm warning you now, you're going to see some shit hit the fan."

"I am aware of that." They headed up to the training level, and, much to both of their chagrin, it had started raining. "Oh, well, we need practice in all sorts of conditions. Let's get started."

They trained hard for several hours, both of them throwing and dodging jutsus that could easily have killed had they connected. When Pein came up to find them, what he saw shocked him. Both of them were soaked in sweat and rain, shivering and still throwing jutsus around that had full power. Pein clapped his hands and said, "Alright you two, go inside. I'll have Konan bring you each some supper. I want each of you to soak in a hot bath for at least an hour so you don't get sick. Uchiha, you take one of the empty bathrooms."

The two of them headed to their rooms, Itachi grabbing his nightclothes and heading toward the staircase to the roof. After he had finished his soak and meal, he dressed and went to find Tigara. Apparently, she had also just finished, because she had tucked herself in and was in the process of lighting a cigarette. "Feeling better?" Itachi asked.

"Eh. A little, I still wanna kill him, but it can wait till tomorrow."

There was a soft knocking on the door

Tigara shouted, "What?!"

"Can I come in, un?" Deidara's voice sounded through the closed door.

Itachi answered, "Not a great idea at the moment, but since I'm in here, come on."

"Good, un," Deidara pushed the door open and walked in, but stayed next to the closed portal.

Tigara asked, "What do you want, bastard?"

"Listen, un," he fidgeted nervously, "it was just a job, un. Nothing personal."

"It was still my team, they were the only friends I had."

He just shrugged, "There's nothing I can do to bring them back, un."

"An apology on your part might be a start towards getting off my shitlist though."

"I'm not gonna apologize for a job, un," he crossed his arms stubbornly.

"Was nearly killing me part of the job?"

"No, un, that was an accident," he leaned back against the door.

"Huh?"

"If you remember correctly, un," he shook his head, "you hit me and I dropped my bird, which I was planning to throw behind you to cut off your route back to the others."

"Oh, so hurting me at all wasn't part of the plan?"

"Nope, un, I was supposed to lead you away from the fight and back to the village, possibly unconscious but not injured, un."

"But who hired you?"

"As I said earlier, un," he shrugged again, "the Akimotos."

"My family?! Why would they do that?"

"I don't ask questions, un," he shook his head. "I just take the money, makes things easier, un. Unlike most ninja, un, as a mercenary I get paid in advance."

Itachi said, "So, in other words, he didn't mean to hurt you, and in a way, it was your fault. Which means, since neither of you are technically apologizing, a truce needs to be arranged."

"I'd be willing, un," Deidara looked up, his one visible eye holding Tigara's.

"I guess I can refrain from killing him. But that doesn't mean he's off my shitlist by a long shot."

"Whatever, un," he turned to leave, but opened the door to a very surprised Pein.

Pein said, "Well, I wasn't exactly expecting this, but stay, I actually need to talk to both of you. Tigara, why do you hate Deidara so much?"

"It was a bit of a misunderstanding and misdirected anger on my part. I'm sorry, Pein."

"That doesn't answer my question and you know it."

"My team and I were walking back through the Forest of Death, after the second phase of the Chunin Exams. I saw him move away and was about to say something to the other two, when three others jumped down on them. Since I was the only one who saw Dei, I went after him, so we wouldn't be caught off-guard again. I hit him and he dropped the bomb he had just made. I got hit with a piece of it and when I came around, I was in Konoha hospital and my teammates were dead. Since he was the only one I got a good look at, I naturally blamed him."

Deidara piped up, "I can put in a few details that she was unaware of at the time, un. My team had been hired, by her family, to kill her team, but she wasn't to be seriously injured. We figured the best way to do that was for me to distract her and draw her away. That's where things kinda strayed from the plan, un. I had made the bomb to throw behind her to block her route back to her team, but she hit me in the head before I got the chance to use it like I wanted. By the way, un, this girl has one mean right cross."

Itachi put in, "I have negotiated a truce between the two of them. As long as the past isn't brought up again, and Tig's bad memories along with it, she has graciously consented not to kill him or pick a fight with him. And Deidara has agreed not to provoke her temper, although I don't think he did it on purpose this time."

Pein said, "Well, I guess I was correct about a history. And I'm glad that an arrangement has been reached. Well, night all. Get some sleep, all of you. Deidara, come with me, I'll show you your room."


	8. Mission Gone Awry

Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

An Offshoot of Nari's Story

By Dawn Loge

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I don't own Naruto, I do, however, own Tigara and Ari and my sister owns Nari and several other original characters. Please have the consideration to not use them; I don't use your characters, so don't use mine or my sister's.

I have my sister's permission to use her characters, since she is also helping me with this story, otherwise, this would be rather boring.

Author's note: Sorry it took so long and that it's kinda short, I've been in a bit of trouble with my hubby, but here it is, enjoy…Please review!

Chapter 8

Mission Gone Awry

About a month after Tigara's eighteenth birthday, things were back to a state of organized chaos, which for the Akatsuki was fairly normal. One morning, shortly after breakfast, Pein came to Itachi and Tigara, who were training on the roof, and said, "Alright, you two, I've got a mission for you."

Tigara asked, "What kind of mission?"

"Recon and retrieval. You leave immediately."

Itachi asked, "Where are we going?"

"The Star Village. Now get packing."

Both younger Shinobi asked, "What are we retrieving?"

"A special scroll, hidden deep in the archives of the village leader. It reveals the secret of how to remove the Bijuu from their Jinchuuriki, which also happens to be the scroll used to seal them into the Jinchuuriki."

Tigara said, "I thought you already had that scroll, and that's why you keep asking me who my friends were in Suna."

"I keep asking who your friends are because I worry about you. I need the scroll because a certain member of that village is a Jinchuuriki. As well as a certain member of Konoha, whom I am almost certain that you are familiar with, Uchiha. Now are you going to pack, or am I going to have to force you to leave unprepared?"

"We're going."

The two headed to their rooms, packed quickly, and left. They arrived in the Star Village three days later at sundown. They stopped and ate supper then went into the village. They found the scroll easily, seeing as it was the only one being guarded by defensive jutsus. Itachi managed to get the scroll out without triggering any of the defenses using his Sharingan. They got out again undetected and ran until sunup. They didn't have much of a head start, so they didn't stop again until nightfall.

That's when things started to go wrong. Tigara, having not had a proper meal in over twenty-four hours, started swaying. She called out weakly, "Itachi."

Itachi barely heard her and turned, just in time to see her hit the ground hard. He ran back to her and picked her up. He ran to the nearest house, which was about an hour's hard journey back the way they had come. He banged on the door with his foot until someone answered. The young woman looked startled. He said, "She's diabetic, I need a medic, now!"

The woman said, "I'm a medic. Wait, this girl looks familiar. What's her name?"

"Akimoto Tigara."

"Lay her on the sofa, I'll check my records." Leafing through a few files, she found the one she was looking for. "Ah, yes. Akimoto Tigara, severe hypoglycemic. When was the last time she ate anything?"

"Our last meal was last night, but I think she's been eating something or another most of the day. The last time I saw her nibbling was about five hours ago. What's your name, by the way?"

"Get my smelling salts, they're on the nightstand. As soon as she wakes up, there's some vegetable stew on the stove, orange juice in the fridge, and sugar in the bowl on the table. Do you know what to do from there? And my name is Minahoshi."

Itachi nodded and went to the bedroom to retrieve the smelling salts. Handing them to the young medic, he ran to the kitchen and got a big bowl of stew and a glass of orange juice, putting several heaping spoonfuls into the juice and stirring it. He brought the bowl and glass to the medic just as Tigara woke.

The medic said, "Welcome back, Tigara. I hadn't thought to see you in my home, since I usually come to you. Here, eat. Do you know what happened?"

"I think my sugar dropped too low, the last thing I remember was running."

"What and when did you last eat?"

"I ran out of candy about 6 hours ago."

"Well, young man, get her another bowl of stew, the two of you are staying here until morning, just so that I can keep an eye on Tigara."

When Itachi brought the bowl back, Tigara grabbed his hand and wouldn't let go, so he sat down next to her and put his arm around her. The medic didn't fail to notice the actions and asked, "Are you two a couple?"

Itachi said, "We are now. I'm not letting this treasure slip from my grasp again. I made that mistake after the Chunin Exams, and I almost ruined any chance I might have had after that on our first full day in the same place."

"I'm not going to say anything else, but congratulations and good luck. You have one feisty, stubborn young lady on your hands now."

"I'm well aware of that. I wouldn't have her any other way." He kissed Tigara lightly on the top of the head, took the bowl from her hand and handed it to the medic as he laid her down on the sofa. She had fallen asleep in his arms.

The next morning, the three of them ate a healthy breakfast of omelets and Itachi and Tigara left to return home. Upon arrival, Tigara went upstairs to her room while Itachi went to find Pein.

Pein asked, "Well, what took so long?"

"Tigara's lucky to be alive, why didn't you tell us that her medic lived between here and the Star Village?"

"I didn't think it was important to the mission, what happened?"

"She passed out from her diabetes about halfway back. By the way, here's your fucking scroll." Itachi threw it at the older man and stormed upstairs. He found Tigara's door open and knocked lightly on the frame. "May I come in?"

Tigara nodded from the bed and asked, "Close the door please. Do you remember what I made you promise?"

"When? You've made me promise several things since I got here."

"The first one, Tachi."

"You mean that I wouldn't do anything intimate without your permission?"

"Yeah, well, I'm giving you permission. Just take it kinda slow, and if I tell you to stop, then you stop. Ok?"

He came over and sat next to her on the bed, tilting her chin up and kissing her tenderly. "I'll go slow and stop if you tell me to."


	9. Love and Lust

Chapter 9

Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

An Offshoot of Nari's Story

By Dawn Loge

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I don't own Naruto, I do, however, own Tigara and Ari and my sister owns Nari and several other original characters. Please have the consideration to not use them; I don't use your characters, so don't use mine or my sister's.

I have my sister's permission to use her characters, since she is also helping me with this story, otherwise, this would be rather boring.

Author's note: WARNING…CITRUS JUICES WITHIN!! If you don't like sex, don't read this chapter, cuz it's right off the bat. Also, it may seem that a few of the characters are OOC, this is not necessarily true; it's more like Tigara brings out their protective, sensitive (pick your own adjective) sides…Please review!

Chapter 9

Love and Lust

Itachi laid Tigara back onto the bed, stroking her cheek and kissing her tenderly. He unlaced the front of her bodice, exposing her breasts. He ran his thumb over the right nipple, bringing a moan from her lips. He released her mouth and started sucking on her left nipple while stroking down her right side. When he got to the top of her skirt, he slowly pushed it down, working her panties down with it, all the while kissing his way down her abdomen. He flicked her clit gently with his tongue, eliciting another moan of pleasure. Taking the moan as encouragement, he slowly inserted one finger, followed by another, into her moist opening. He moved the two fingers in and out in a slow rhythm, while sucking on her swollen pleasure bud until she screamed his name as her orgasm overcame her senses.

He pulled his fingers out of her and licked them off, enjoying her salty sweetness. Then, undressing himself, he climbed up until he was positioned before her opening. "Do you want me to continue?" he asked. She nodded, her eyes slightly glazed. He entered her slowly, surprised by how tight she was. The tempo he set was slow, he didn't want to hurt her, and he wanted to enjoy the feeling for as long as possible. But she was not in the mood for slow at that moment; she bucked against him, causing him to speed up. It wasn't long before another wave of ecstasy crashed over her. The contracting of her most intimate of intimates was more than he could bear; he shot his hot seed deep into her and slumped over, rolling so that he wouldn't crush her.

She snuggled closer to him and asked, "Are you all right, 'Tachi?"

"Hn, I'll live. You are an amazing girl, Tig. Do you know that?"

Her next thought was interrupted by a timid knock on the door. Tying her robe around herself, Tigara went to answer it. Konan asked, "Pein wanted to know if you were coming down to dinner or if I should bring you a plate. Should I bring each of you a plate? Supper's in ten if you'd rather eat with the rest of us."

Itachi said from the bed, "We'll be down in five."

Tigara closed the door and began dressing. Itachi simply stared at the girl who was now officially his. He was brought out of his reverie by a sharp thump on the head. "Hey, I'm talking to you. Are you going to get dressed or sit there staring like a wart on a frog?"

With a smirk he rose from the bed and she got her first good look at what had given her that much pleasure only a few minutes before. "What? You act like you've never seen one before."

"I've never seen one that big."

He kissed her on the forehead and said, "Well, Babe, you're going to be seeing a lot more of it. We've gotta get down to supper, then you're going to soak in a hot bath and go to bed. I've gotta talk to Pein."

Wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek, she said, "Yes, dear."

When Tigara had gone back upstairs, Itachi approached Pein. "Could I speak to you alone, Leader-sama?"

Pein went out into the garden and lit a cigarette. "Well, what is it, Uchiha?"

"Well, sir. I am aware that Tigara looks to you like a big brother. So it only seems natural that I should come to you with this request. I'd like to formally ask for her hand in marriage."

"Well, funny you should ask that. I was just going through her file this morning. It seems that there was a betrothal the day after you both became Chunin. I haven't been able to find the name of her intended yet. Do you have your file?"

"It's in my room."

"May I see it? Actually, I'll come with you."

They went upstairs and Itachi checked on Tigara before going to his room. He handed Pein the file. Pein leafed through it until he found what he was looking for. "Here it is. Chunin Exams…Results…Ah, apparently, you were also betrothed on the same day; and again, I can't find the name of your intended. Now, as you know, it's rather unusual for more than one betrothal to occur on the same day. I can only assume that, since neither intended is mentioned, the apparent two betrothals are, in fact, one and the same. That means that you didn't have to ask me. It was already planned by both your families when you came of age."

"Hn. You might want to leave this room, unless of course you want to see what had Tig screaming my name earlier."

"Night, Uchiha." Itachi shut the door behind Pein and locked it. Then he went through the bathroom and joined Tigara in her bed for the night.

The next morning, after they had made love again, Itachi and Tigara went downstairs to fix breakfast. Tobi came in first, saying, "Tobi's a good boy, why was Tigara screaming last night?"

Tigara blushed crimson and busied herself with the food prep, so Itachi said, "None of your business, Tobi. Why don't you wake the others so we can all eat breakfast?"

After everyone was seated, Pein announced, "Well, gang. I've got missions for everybody, except Tobi and Baby Bird. Uchiha, you're with Kisame, Deidara, and Zetsu; you four are going to Suna; your mission scroll will unseal itself once you get there. Konan, Kakuzu, Hidan, Sasori and I are going to the Sound Village; Orochimaru says he has some valuable information for me. Baby Bird, you and Tobi are staying behind because I suspect that someone has been trying to find us. We will all leave after lunch and meet back here in four days."

Everyone nodded and the meal was finished in relative silence. After they finished, Tigara and Itachi went upstairs to her room. Once safely inside, Tigara grabbed Itachi in a fierce hug and said, "I wish I could go with you."

"Why is that?" he asked, stroking her hair.

"Tobi scares me. I'm not entirely sure why, but he does."

"Does he remind you of someone?"

"I don't know; maybe."

"He makes me a little uneasy too, now that you mention it. I'll talk to Pein and see if you can't come with me." He kissed her on the top of the head and finished packing. She replenished her candy supply, since she was still packed from their previous mission, and the two carried their packs downstairs. Itachi saw Pein and asked, "Leader, can Tig go with us to Suna? I'd rather not have her here alone."

"She won't be alone, Tobi will be here."

Tigara said angrily, "Having Tobi here, I might as well be alone. He's not right."

"Tigara, I've told you before about making comments like that about others. The assignments stay as they are. You are staying here with Tobi, and Uchiha is going to Suna."

The younger two headed into the kitchen and fixed their plates. Lunch was eaten in complete silence. Itachi kissed Tigara on his way out the door, an action that did not go unnoticed by Tobi. Tigara followed everyone to the gate and watched until they were out of sight; then she headed up to her room to take a bath.

Tigara was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that she was being followed by Tobi. He waited outside her bedroom door until he heard water running into the bathtub, then he silently opened it and entered her room. When he saw that the door to the bathroom was open, and her back was to it, he took his opportunity.

He grabbed her from behind, pinned her to the bed, and said, in a voice she didn't recognize, "You're an Uchiha bitch now, that means you belong to all Uchihas, including me." With that, he brutally raped her and left the room. He did this every day for the next three, at which point, Tigara took off to the Sound Village.

When she arrived, she started asking for Kabuto. It didn't take her long to find out where his house was. She banged on the door for about fifteen minutes, but when no one came to answer it, she decided to sit on the step until he got back. She didn't have to wait long, because about ten minutes later, he came running up. When she saw him, she threw her arms around him, buried her face in his shoulder and broke down sobbing. He lifted her up and carried her into the kitchen, setting her down in a chair. He asked, "What's wrong, Squirt?"

"T-T-Tobi…r-r-raped…m-m-me," she managed to get out between sobs.

"Where's everyone else? Surely they didn't leave you alone?"

"Th-th-they…all…on…m-m-missions…N-n-no one…th-th-there."

"When are they supposed to be back?"

"N-n-not…s-s-sure. D-d-don't…r-r-remember."

"Well, Pein and the others just left this morning, I'm surprised that they didn't cross paths with you. Regardless, you're staying here for a day or two until you've calmed down some. Then I'll take you back. How does that sound, Squirt?"

"O-o-ok…Th-th-thank…y-y-you…K-K-Kabu."

He fixed her some tea and supper, then directed her to one of the guest rooms. "You can take a bath if you want to, I've got to go tell Orochimaru that you're here. Try to get some rest, Squirt."

"Night, Kabu, thanks again."

"Night, Squirt." He closed the door and left, but not before making sure all the other doors and windows were locked. He locked the front door and ran to tell Orochimaru what had just taken place.

Orochimaru was furious. He said, "When you take her back, I'm going with you. I will not permit this to happen again."

The three of them left early three days later, because that's how long it took Tigara to finally calm down enough that she wasn't afraid to go back. When they got to the lair, Tigara just stared. The courtyard was a mess, there was blood everywhere, and there was a ginormungous statue of a hand in the center of it. Itachi came running out because he had been looking for her for the two days that he'd been back. On seeing Orochimaru and Kabuto, however, he stopped in his tracks.

Orochimaru said, "Where's Pein? I need to see him now!"

Itachi said, "He's in the kitchen." Orochimaru headed that way. "Do you two want to come into the garden or up to the training level?"

Kabuto said, "That all depends on where Tobi is."

Itachi said, "The training level it is then. Last time I saw him, he was in the garden."

Tigara said, "I want to go to my room, it's easier to talk privately behind locked doors."

Both guys nodded and followed her upstairs. Itachi entered through his room, locking his door and the door on his side of the bathroom. The other two went into her room and locked her door. They all three sat down on her bed and lit a cigarette. Itachi asked, "What's wrong, baby? Why'd you want to know where Tobi was?"

Tigara started shaking and clenching her fists, so Kabuto said, "He raped her. That's all I could get out of her about it, so I don't have much in the way of details."

Both of them turned to Tigara. She said, "I had come up to take a bath after everybody left. He came in, grabbed me, pinned me to the bed. Then he said, 'You're an Uchiha bitch now, that means you belong to all Uchihas, including me.' After that, he raped me and left. He did it three days in a row, saying the same thing each time. Tachi, I didn't recognize his voice, he sounded older and meaner. I didn't know what else to do and I couldn't remember when you were coming back, so I ran all the way to the Sound Village."

Itachi looked thoughtful for about a minute, "Well, there's only four Uchihas that didn't get killed in the massacre; one was Sasuke, and I left him alive to avenge the clan. The other three were already dead, according to my sources; Nari, Madara, and Obito. I highly doubt that it was Nari, because apparently you two are good friends and besides that, she's a girl. That just leaves Obito, although according to my information, he was a goof off; and Madara, who by my information, couldn't get it up to save his life."

Kabuto said, "Well, be that as it may, I would recommend that she go with you any time you have a mission. If Pein won't allow it, send her to me. I don't want her having to go through this again."

Tigara brought her knees up to her chest and said, "I feel like a kid again."

Kabuto asked, "Why's that, Squirt?"

Itachi said, "Her uncles and male cousins did the same thing. The women found out that she had gone to the Mizukage and decided that they were going to kill her. That's why she killed her clan."

Kabuto looked at Tigara in shock, "That's why your family is such a sensitive subject. Wasn't there anyone in your clan that loved you for you?"

"My parents and my grandparents, and Ari, of course. My parents taught me to use my Kekkei Genkais once they activated. My mother taught me gymnastics; father taught me how to use some weapons, mostly kunai, shuriken, and daggers cuz I was just little; my grandfathers taught me to fish and hunt; and my grandmothers taught me to cook and tend a garden. Ari was just a baby, she loved me just cuz I spent time with her."

Itachi said, "Well, you now have a big brother and a fiancé who aren't gonna let anything like that happen again. Right, Kabu?"

"Exactly, and I'm guessing that I'm the big brother, so I guess I'll go find Orochimaru so we can get back before dark."

Meanwhile, down in the kitchen, Orochimaru was having a rather heated discussion with Pein. Orochimaru said, "Pein, are you aware that Tigara was raped?"

"By her family, yes. That's why she killed them."

"I mean while the rest of you were away, Tobi raped her. I will not stand for it happening again."

"Tobi wouldn't do something like that. Besides, do you know where she is? She's been missing for three days."

"Oh, I know exactly where she is. She ran to Kabuto sobbing her heart out after it happened. We brought her back with us. I will repeat myself one more time. I WILL NOT ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN AGAIN. From now on, either Uchiha Itachi takes her on whatever mission you send him on, or she comes to the Sound Village to stay with Kabuto while he's away. I will not permit her to remain here without proper protection."

"Are you threatening me? You know, probably better than anyone, that I don't take kindly to threats."

"I don't threaten. I'm questioning how well you know this masked man that calls himself Tobi, and how you feel you can trust him over a girl you've known most of her life. Answer me this, have you ever known Tigara to lie about anything, to anyone, especially those she knows and trusts?"

"Now that you mention it, no. I have never known her to lie. Oh, my gods. They both sensed that Tobi was trouble and I ignored them. It's my fault that this happened. I should have listened to her instincts. You're right. Either young Uchiha or I will remain with her at all times; he's already asked to marry her. This will never happen again, I swear to you on my life."

"That's more like the Pein I know. I would also recommend that either she move into Uchiha's room, or he into hers. It's easier for him to protect her if he's with her."

At that point, the younger three came in. Itachi said, "I agree wholeheartedly, Orochimaru. But we don't want to tip off Tobi. We won't officially be in the same room until we marry, but we'll more likely than not sleep together. Tig, when was the last time you ate?"

Before she could answer, Pein said, "It's probably a good thing that I was about to ring the gong for lunch. All that's left is to set the table. If you three could do that, I'll get it set out. It's just sandwiches, but it's something."

At lunch, Tigara was surrounded, so Tobi had to sit next to Pein. Pein said, "From now on, Tobi, you'll be sitting by me at meals."

"But Tobi's a good boy; Tobi wants to sit next to Tigara. Tigara's a good girl."

"I know all that, but I want you by me. That's how it's going to be, whether you like it or not," Pein scolded.

Tigara was never left alone after that. If Itachi was sent on an assassination mission, she went to stay with Kabuto, otherwise she went with him. Tobi, the mysterious Uchiha, never had the opportunity to touch her again. Orochimaru married Itachi and Tigara in a secret ceremony a little over two months later.


	10. Married with Children

Tigara's Tale

Tigara's Tale

An Offshoot of Nari's Story

By Dawn Loge

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I don't own Naruto, I do, however, own Tigara and Ari and my sister owns Nari and several other original characters. Please have the consideration to not use them; I don't use your characters, so don't use mine or my sister's.

I have my sister's permission to use her characters, since she is also helping me with this story, otherwise, this would be rather boring.

Chapter 10

Married, with Children

Mid-June of the next year, Tigara started feeling nauseous, weak, and tired all the time. She didn't want anyone to notice, but Pein and Itachi both did. Pein sent for Minahoshi. Itachi took the medic up to Tigara's room, where she did a thorough examination. She called Itachi in and said, "Well, you two, I've got good news and bad news. Which would you like first?"

Itachi said, "The bad."

"Well, Tigara, you're going to need constant watching, and you can't strain yourself at all."

Crestfallen, Tigara asked, "What's the good news?"

"The good news is actually the reason for the bad news."

The couple looked at each other totally lost. Itachi said, "Explain, please."

The medic laughed, "Congratulations, you're pregnant. Now, it's ninja law that all expectant parents wear these." She handed each of them a ring containing one pink and one light blue sapphire. "I don't expect any complications, but I definitely don't want you passing out before you deliver. Tigara, do you have any friends other than those here?"

Tigara said, "I've got Kabuto, in the Sound Village; Gaara and his siblings in Suna; and Nari in Konoha, but I haven't seen Nari in years."

"I'd suggest you go to Suna, it's a bit more convenient for me; although the Sound Village, you're less likely to be turned in. As I said, I don't want you straining or under any stress."

"I'll go to Suna. Gaara doesn't know I'm in the Akatsuki; in fact, he doesn't even know I killed my clan. But if I go anywhere, Tachi can't go with me. I think Sasuke is in the Sound Village now, and Gaara would kill him on sight."

"Babe, I hate to break this to you, but Gaara's dead. He's the reason for the mess in the courtyard when Orochimaru and Kabu brought you back after the Tobi incident."

"But I saw him the last time I was there, about two months ago. He's the Kazakage now."

Itachi looked at her in complete shock, "They must have figured out a way to bring him back. But at least I know you'll be safe either place. Just, please, come home as soon as possible after the delivery. Promise me."

"I'll bring her myself. In fact, if you'd feel better about letting her leave, I'll take her to Suna. Now, Tigara, you need to pack for the trip. I'll tell Pein and we'll be on our way after lunch."

The couple nodded and Minahoshi went downstairs. It was a very teary goodbye because Tigara hadn't been away from Itachi for more than a few days since the incident with Tobi.

They arrived safely in Suna four days later, which happened to be Tigara's birthday, and went directly to the Kazakage's Palace. They were greeted by none other than Kankuro, who was standing guard at the front gate. He asked, "Who are you and what is your business with the Kazakage?"

Minahoshi said, "I am a medic and I need to request something important from him."

He eyed Tigara, "What about you, Squirt?"

She rolled her eyes, "Do I need a reason to see my friend on my birthday? Or am I gonna hafta beat your ass, again?"

Kankuro said, "You know I was just razzing you, Squirt. Go on in."

The women went into the audience room. They saw the thin redhead they were seeking seated behind his desk. He looked up and asked, "What can I do for you?"

Minahoshi bowed and when he signaled her to rise, she said, "My lord Kazakage, I am a medic and I have come seeking temporary asylum for my patient."

"Am I to be given the name of the patient and the reason for the asylum?"

Tigara spoke up, "I'm the patient, Twerp."

Minahoshi cleared her throat and threw Tigara a glare, "The reason for the asylum is a high-risk pregnancy due to her diabetes. There isn't a medic where she lives and the nearest one is nearly a day away from her. I want her close to a medic, more than one, if possible, and the only place I can think of that has at least one is here. Also, she mentioned that she was friends with you and your siblings. Will you grant the asylum?"

"Gaara, I really need you to do this for me. Minahoshi," she indicated the older woman, "says I can't strain or overstress myself."

Gaara said, "Tig, you know that you don't have to ask to stay here. In fact, I had already made up my mind to allow it as soon as you said that you were the patient. Madam Minahoshi, you will stay for lunch, won't you?" The woman nodded. "Temari will show both of you to Tig's room to get her settled. Tig, you know that she's gonna want to throw you a baby shower."

Tigara laughed and nodded. Gaara rang a small gong on his desk and both Temari and Kankuro came in. Gaara said, "Tem, show Tig to her room. Make sure she's comfortable, she's gonna be here a while. Kank, tell the kitchen staff that we're having two more for lunch. And let them know that one of them is eating for two and diabetic, also that it's her birthday. I've got a couple letters to send and we'll all meet in the dining room in half an hour."

Tigara said, "Tem, take Minahoshi, I'll be along directly. I need to talk to Gaara privately for a moment." After everyone else left, she said, "There's another reason for the asylum. Do you have the S-Class registry?" The other redhead nodded. "Find the section from Kiri. You'll find the name of a young girl, presumed dead because, supposedly, no one has seen or heard from her in going on twelve years." The younger man flipped through until he found the name she was referring to. "I'm Akimoto Tigara. I haven't killed anyone else, and the only reason I killed my clan is they were planning to kill me in my sleep and I found out." Gaara remained silent, absorbing this new information, so she continued. "The reason no one has technically seen or heard from me; I haven't, until today, told anyone my last name except my associates and my medic. Please, don't have me killed and don't turn me in. You have to believe that I didn't have a choice. The Mizukage wasn't going to do anything."

Gaara looked at her, "I believe you. Your secret is safe. By any chance, are you wearing your hitae ite? If so, may I see it?"

Tigara nodded and lifted her skirt to reveal the metal plate tied around her upper thigh. "I hide it. I'm no longer proud of the place I'm from, or my current associates, with three exceptions. I'm sorry to say, that the three exceptions are part of the group responsible for your abduction. If I had known what their mission scroll said, I would have told them not to do it. I'm also responsible for the scroll being obtained that was used to kill you, and thus rid you of Shukaku, for that I also apologize."

Gaara said, "There's no way you could have known that I was a Jinchuuriki, therefore you have nothing to apologize for. I'm going to consult with the Hokage and ask her to come here. I will tell her that you are currently under my protection, but not until she gets here. She is a highly skilled medic, probably the best in all the Hidden Countries. Then again, she's always looking for an excuse to get away from her official duties, so she'll probably come."

"Have you seen or heard from Nari lately?"

"I have. She's well."

"Don't tell her about this. She was one of my options for asylum, but I chose you."

"You know that I have a difficult time keeping secrets from her, but I'll try."

"One more thing; if or when the association I'm with is defeated, would you help me get my record expunged? I'd rather not have my child, or children if the gods permit, know that their parents were criminals."

"I make no guarantees, but I'll do what I can. Now, it's time for lunch. The letters can wait until afterward."

Minahoshi left after lunch.

Lady Tsunade arrived with Hyuuga Hinata about a month later, just in time for the baby shower. After the party, the medic-Hokage did a complete examination of the pregnant girl, with the aid of Hinata's Byakugan. It was then discovered that Tigara was carrying twins. Lady Tsunade said, "That explains a couple of things; like why it looks like you're about four months along, instead of only two. It also explains your increased appetite. What it doesn't explain is your consistently high blood sugar readings. You're hypoglycemic, right? If anything, it should be keeping your blood sugar lower than normal."

"I have been eating a lot of sweets, I just feel like I can't get enough sugar, Lady Hokage."

"Tonight, I don't want you eating or drinking anything after about ten o'clock; and check it before you eat or drink anything in the morning. I want an accurate baseline reading."

When Temari found out, she said, "It's a good thing that you got lots of clothes, isn't it, Tig. You're gonna need them."

Kankuro and Gaara both said, "You got that right."

Tigara said, "I guess it's also good that I got lots of bottles and an electric…never mind. How am I gonna get all this stuff home though? I'll be having a time and a half carrying the twins home."

Gaara said, "I'll use a transport jutsu on the stuff, just keep enough here for a few days after the delivery."

Tigara said, "Thanks, Gaara. I really appreciate it. I'm gonna go rest now. I'll see you guys at dinner, but could you have a snack sent up in a couple hours?"

"Go, before I carry you up there," Temari said.

The next few months went by slowly for Tigara. She missed Itachi terribly, but sent him letters through Kabuto at least once a week. They discussed names and agreed on Obito and Fugaku for boys; for girls, they chose Nari and Mikoto.

The morning of February 29 dawned bright, but cold. Tigara was writing a birthday note to Kabuto when her first pain hit. She ignored it, thinking it was just indigestion. The next one she couldn't ignore, since it broke her water. She screamed, not really able to move. Temari, who had been sleeping next door, came running. On seeing the puddle on the floor and Tigara doubled over clutching her abdomen, she helped the other girl to the bed and ran for the Hokage and Hinata. The three came back in, Temari carrying a bowl of cool water and a washcloth, Hinata with towels and two blankets, and Tsunade with her surgical kit. The first baby didn't take long, about an hour. Tsunade handed the boy to Hinata, who cleaned and wrapped him. The second was right on his heels, a girl. Hinata handed them to their mother, who immediately started feeding them. Tsunade had their birth certificates, filling them out, and asked, "What are their names?"

"Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Fugaku."

"And the father."

"Uchiha Itachi."

"How are the three of you getting home?"

"Minahoshi was supposed to be here yesterday, but she's obviously late. She's taking us home."

Minahoshi came in at that moment, "Did I hear my name being said? Sorry I'm late, Tigara. I guess I missed the birth. What are they?"

Tigara handed the other medic the sleeping infants, "A boy, Fugaku, and a girl, Mikoto."

"Excellent names, good strong ones. Their father will be happy."

"I hope so."

Tsunade said, "Hinata and I will be leaving in the morning. Be careful on the way home, and take it easy."

Tigara rolled her eyes and Minahoshi said, "I'll make sure of that."

Temari had taken pictures of the twins and told Tigara, "I'll make sure I get these to you before you leave, I know their father will want them."

Minahoshi said, "Tigara, get some rest while you can. I'll be checking you in about an hour, after which I want you to try to feed them again. Come on, Temari."

"I'll stay with her. While you're checking her and she's feeding them, I'll go get the guys; I know they'll want to visit for a few minutes."

When the guys came in, Temari handed each of them one of the babies. Kankuro looked completely comfortable, but Gaara; Gaara looked like he was afraid he'd drop Fugaku. Temari gently guided him to the rocker and positioned his arms. It wasn't long, however, before both twins started fussing. Kankuro wrinkled his nose and said, "Um, Tem, I think this one needs to be changed. The other one might have the same problem."

Tigara put her hands on her hips and said, "They have names, you know. The boy that Gaara's holding is Fugaku, and the girl in your arms is Mikoto."

Temari handed Mikoto to Tigara, along with a diaper and damp washcloth. They changed the babies simultaneously and Temari handed Fugaku to his mother, then proceeded to shoo out the guys, saying, "Get lost, before I kick both your asses. Mommy and babies need their rest." She then sat in the rocker to watch over the three sleepers.

It went this way for about four days; either Temari or Minahoshi with the new mom and babies constantly and the guys only coming in for a little while at a time. The morning of the fifth day, Minahoshi decided that Tigara had recovered enough to make the journey home. Gaara gave them a carriage to use, but it still took about four days.

Itachi, having received word from Kabuto that they were on their way, was waiting when they arrived. He took the twins from Tigara and Minahoshi helped her down, saying, "I gave my word that they'd arrive back in one piece. Let's get these three inside and settled, then I need to return the carriage to Gaara."

Itachi said, "Don't bother about the carriage." He handed each of the women a baby and did the necessary hand signs. The carriage disappeared. "I have to agree, however, that we need to get inside." He took Fugaku from Minahoshi and led the way upstairs. No one noticed that Tigara's mouth was hanging open.

When they got to Itachi's old room, Tigara started crying. Everything that she had received at the baby shower, along with quite a few things she didn't recognize, had been set up to create a nursery, complete with two of everything. Itachi asked, "What's wrong? I thought you'd like it."

"I do. I just didn't think you'd do it by yourself."

"I didn't. Konan, Pein, Kisame, Zetsu, and Kabu helped. When Kabu relayed your letter saying that you were having twins, along with most of this, I sent him back with enough money to get what we lacked. But this isn't all of it, not by a long shot. Why don't we lay these two down and I'll show you what I mean." He led the two women back downstairs to the living room, where there were two playpens full of toys. From there, they went to the kitchen, only to see two highchairs. He indicated a speaker-box on the wall, "Sound activated intercom system, with receivers in every room we're likely to be in, as well as one in the courtyard, the garden and two on the training level. The activator is in the twins' room. This way, no matter where we are or what we're doing, we'll hear them." Just as he finished speaking, the intercom went off to Mikoto crying, followed closely by Fugaku.

Tigara said, "That's my cue. I'll be back down in a little while, after they've been fed and changed."

Itachi followed, and Minahoshi left. Itachi got his first real look at the babies with their eyes open; Fugaku's were about the same color as Tigara's hair and Mikoto's were an icy green. All of a sudden, on seeing their father, for a split second, both twins' eyes went blood red, then back to their original colors and they both gave baby-sized versions of the infamous Uchiha smirk. "See, Tachi, they already know you."

Itachi asked, "How old are they now, a week, ten days at the most?"

"Nine days. Why?"

"Because, like my cousin, Nari, their Sharingan is already active. I wonder if it's a blended clan trait. Her mother was a Hyuuga, so she got a combination of the Sharingan and the Byakugan. Did you notice anything unusual about their eyes after the birth?"

"Now that you mention it, yes. The first time they cried, their eyes went blood red for a split second, and then to the colors they are now. I didn't even think about it at the time."

"Their other Kekkei Genkai will probably take a bit longer to develop, but I'll have to train them to use the Sharingan early."

"Don't be so sure about that, babe. Remember, we're both prodigies."

"True. We'll probably have to watch both of them for the diabetes though. If it develops, we'll have to teach them to control it as well."

Tigara rolled her eyes and said, "No shit, Sherlock."


End file.
